Everything's not lost
by Cassiopeia23
Summary: She is human, but neither ordinary nor mortal. Her fate is intertwined with her own universe, and now suddenly she's stuck, unable to reach home. Who is that stranger with his blue box who saved her? And is there more to it than she would have ever expected? Will they be able to help each other? Because sometimes you are your own worst enemy... Rewrite of season 2 and 3 with OC
1. Chapter 1 - Arrival

_So, here is my second attempt on fanfiction. The first one I started in German, and I wasn't really satisfied with it at all – not with writing Dr. Who in German, nor the impression I got from my OC that was in no way like she was in my head, and not with where the story was heading. (Or more likely: not heading.) I'm not that good at making up stories on my own, so this is now my second try, this time writing it alongside season two (and most likely three and four), and maybe with some adventures written by myself in between. (Yes, season two and as for this: with Rose ;-))_

 _It is a bit of a cross-over with Perry Rhodan, a great German SciFi-Series, but you do not need to know anything about it for this story. My OC comes from the Universe of Perry Rhodan (I strongly recommend reading it though, if you like other SciFi besides Doctor Who, it is really really good). There is a lot of immortality and psychic stuff going on there, and I had always wondered what would happen if someone from there meets the Doctor._

 _As said, you don't have to now anything about Perry Rhodan for it is just an OC coming from there and besides that, this fanfic plays completely in the Whoniverse. Everything else there is to know about my OC and her universe you will find out along with our beloved Doctor. That is also the reason why I didn't post it under cross-overs: It is not really one._

 _Also, as you might have guessed by now, English is not my native tongue. So if I make any (major) mistakes, feel free to point them out, I always strive to improve my English-skills.  
Other reviews that are not about pointing out mistakes are highly welcome as well. :-)_

 _One more thing: The rating might change to M later on for different reasons, but I'm not sure about this right now._

* * *

 **Chapter I**

 _Mira's POV_

A humming sound that not only filled her ears but somehow also her mind was the first thing she realised as she finally woke up. A humming she had never heard before. More interesting though was the fact that she woke up at all.

The last thing she could recall was herself flying through the control room of her space jet. As a matter of fact, there definitely were more intelligent things to do than leaving your seat whilst your spaceship is being hit by turbulences.

On the other hand, what choice had she had with all energy gone from the controls and the main reactor about to overload? It had been either _certainly_ getting killed by the inevitable explosion or _perhaps_ ending up with her head against something whilst trying to reach the engine room (and then getting killed by the explosion). In her case unfortunately it had appeared to be the latter.

At least the 'hitting something' part she could clearly remember.

She opened her eyes carefully, but the light was dimmed and didn't hurt as she had halfway expected it.

The next thing almost instinctively did was checking for the small, egg-shaped device normally hanging around her neck on a silver chain. Luckily it was still in place.  
It was her lifeline, quite literally, and tended to draw unwanted attention to itself, especially if someone was a bit to curious.

Whilst lifting herself up on her elbows she casually noticed that her head didn't hurt at all. Her hand reached for her temple, but the wound that must have been there was gone. She could just feel a bit of sticky, dried blood in her hair.

The room around her clearly looked like some sort sickbay judging from the beds and all sorts of devices. An alien one for that, but none she had ever seen before. And she really had seen a lot of alien technology in her life. There was no better way to describe it than organic. The material of the walls looked somehow coral, and the walls themselves were covered by strange... _round things_? .

Apart from the furnishing, the room was empty. No one here, neither living being nor robot. She reached out with her psychic senses – she was a mutant after all, if not a very useful one when she was on her own. But, thanks to her empathic abilities, she could at least tell if there was anything alive around in a certain radius. That was the moment when she first noticed the strange presence in her mind. It was just a slight presence and not more than skin-deep, but it shouldn't have been there. Nothing, well, almost nothing and no one should be able to get into her mind without her explicitly lowering her mental shields, not even when she was asleep or unconscious. She tried to shut it out, but the only response she got was a slight feeling of hurt and disappointment.

 _Fine._

She obviously couldn't do anything about it for now other than watching her thoughts, so she stood up and headed for the door that was unlocked. Whilst opening it, she checked for the small weapon she often was carrying, but of course it wasn't there. Maybe it was still in the space jet, she just couldn't remember.

 _Can't help that either for now._

The door led to a wide corridor that looked pretty much like the sickbay, without the beds and stuff, of course. But again a lot of these round things on the walls. She couldn't even tell if she was on a space station, a spaceship or a planet. Normally she was quite good at doing so, but this time she was completely clueless.

She decided to turn right, for it didn't seem to matter. In both directions there was only corridor. Endlessly and empty corridors, for she must have been walking for at least fifteen minutes now, without sensing any other living being besides the everlasting presence in her mind.

Finally she came to a room that gave the impression of some sort of control room. It was a bit weird, because there was no actual main screen or something like that as she would have expected. It wasn't stuffed with positronics, consoles, tables and chairs and such like the control rooms she knew from the ships of the fleet.

Besides some pillars, which had the same organic-coral like structure than the walls, there was just a main console in the centre of the room, surrounding a huge column. All in all it looked a tiny bit provisional to her - judging by human standards, but for this was alien that didn't had to mean anything. Everything was bathed in a turquoise light that originated from the column in the middle of the console.

She took a closer look to the instruments and switches on the console, but she new better than to touch anything. There also was a small screen, but on it were nothing but strange, circular symbols. Not a hint of her whereabouts.

What really startled her were the Post Its on the screen. Yellow, small Post Its, just like the ones that had been used on Earth, back in the old days. She hadn't seen them for centuries. In this environment they were even more than anachronistic. Where in three devils...

"Hello there! Nice to see you up and walking around!"

She outright jumped, turned around and took a few hasty steps back, until she felt a handrail in her back. She hadn't heard him coming nor had she felt his presence and at this moment he had just scared the living daylights out of her. She must have looked as shocked as she felt, because the man who was standing there was seemingly sincerely regretful as he continued: "Sorry. I didn't mean that, really. Sure you should be up right now? You're a bit pale..."

"Dammit! You almost gave me a heard attack!" she finally managed to answer, speaking Intercosmo rather than English, the universal language of the Milky Way Galaxy. Where she came from English hadn't been spoken for ages, so she really didn't think about replying in this old tongue.

Now it was on him to look bewildered. "What?"

"I said... wait. English?" she replied, still speaking Intercosmo.

Now as she had recovered from the shock he gave her, she had time to eye him closer. If she had thought of the Post Its as an anachronism, he just had beaten that. He was dressed in a brown pinstripe suit, probably from the early 21st century. Way out of date. And were these chucks on his feet? Well, at least that explained why she hadn't heard his steps on the metal floor. Above all, he clearly wasn't human, apart from him _looking_ exactly like any human. Pink skin, all dark brown hair and eyes, tall and skinny. But there was something strange about him, something she rather felt than saw. Something that any non psychic – or younger - person probably would have just missed. A hint of timelessness, like it clung to the other immortals she knew for so long now. Something she feared she might have acquired for herself over time. Yet it was different with him...

Besides that, she didn't get anything from him at an empathic level. Not a hint of an emotion. Just enough to tell he was alive (and not a robot) and not human. It was as if her empathy just didn't work on him.

"Of course I can't understand your language," he almost yelled all of a sudden, making her jump again and snapping her out of her observations. "Well, that's brilliant. I'm the Doctor, by the way." He hold out a hand and she took it, still a bit perplexed.

"Mira... Rhodan," she watched him carefully, but her surname didn't seem to make any impression on him. It should, in all modesty, and so this added up to the list of concerning things she had encountered so far. Not only that she had made up a reputation of her own over time, there also was her father, Perry Rhodan. And at least in this context everyone familiar with Earth and the Milky Way Galaxy should have heard that name before and react to it in one way or another.

"Nice to meet you, Mira Rhodan."

"You speak English? British English?" she said, ignoring his former outburst. "You're not even human."

"Any problems with that?"

"What? No. I'm just trying to say that hardly any Earth born human speaks English these days. It's essentially a dead language. Plus you obviously don't understand Intercosmo, a language that exists for at least ten-thousand years now. Way longer than humans have been out into space. And you look as you just jumped right out of the 21st century. By the way: _The_ Doctor? Not _A_ Doctor? And what's your name? "

"Nope, _The_ is right. Just _the_ Doctor," he smiled.

"Fine," she said, covering her eyes with her hand, still leaning against the handrail. "Whatever. Something is seriously wrong. All I know is that there was a sudden interference, which led to a collapse of the linear field of the space jet and most likely caused an energy feedback all the way through the field projectors, the Kalup-Converters and finally right into the Blackshield-Reactor," she summed up what had happened so far, mainly to help herself making sense out of it all. "I hardly believe that this was sufficient enough to cause a major change in our timeline – on the other hand, the engine failure could be due to some weird changes in time, but this would be so bad I don't even want to think about it. Nor do I think that I was thrown halfway across the universe, where no one has ever heard about Earth or Intercosmo, for _you_ clearly know at least one Earthen language. Leaves me with one rather nasty possibility..."

She finally looked up at him. He was now wearing glasses made of cardboard, just like the ones used for 3D images, back in the old days, before the invention of proper holographic technology.

"Do you think this is funny?"

"What? Why would I think that?" he put the glasses away and all of a sudden looked very serious. "What other possibility do you mean?"

"I guess been thrown all across the universe is ruled out then?" she said with despair in her voice.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He observed her carefully. Her rapid comprehension of the recent events was as astonishing as her technical knowledge, considering her age and the fact that she was human. She couldn't be older than twenty-five or at most thirty. It was always a bit hard to tell with humans, but her delicate features definitely looked rather like the ones of a grown up woman than like the ones of a girl just out of her teenage years.  
Plus, there was something odd about her. Not only was she obviously not a part of this universe - so for him she (meaning her timeline) was little more than a blank sheet of paper when he looked at her - there was something else he couldn't quite put is finger on yet. Maybe it had something to do with the little device hanging around her neck. Even the scanners in the TARDIS coudn't make that much out of it.

Apart from that, she looked quite normal. A bit pale, but this could be due to the life on spaceships without a sun above her head. About 5ft 6in in height, and quite lean, almost fragile. Her rather pretty face was framed by a bunch of dark auburn hair, tied in a now rather dishevelled bun. But it were her eyes that were really remarkable. Huge, bright and of a light steel grey colour, with a slightly darker ring around her iris and definitely at odds with the rest of her rather young appearance. Although, there was something in her gestures, about her attitude, that didn't seem to fit in as well.

"What day is it?" she asked suddenly.

"Well, that's a bit difficult." he said, rubbing the back of his head. The TARDIS was in drift mode, so time and dates really were quite relative. "What day should we have?"

She looked at him in a way that made quite clear that she had enough of question and answer games for now.

"Mira, I'm afraid it doesn't really matter what day it is. There has been no change in any timelines. Well, when I say no change, I mean, no major changes in the timelines concerning you. Not recently at least. Nor did you came out at the other end of the universe. But there is a reason why I don't understand your language and why I haven't seen a ship like yours before."

"Yeah. The same reason why you most likely have never heard of the Cosmic Hanseatic Organisation? The Great Arkon Empire? The former Solar Empire?" She looked at him with a mixture of hope and fear in her eyes. A gaze so intense that it almost made him want to look away.

"No, I haven't heard of them. Mira, I'm so sorry. But you seem to be in a parallel universe. Or you came from one, depends on your point of view," he finally replied.

Instead of answering she turned around, her hands resting on the handrail, and looked down on the floor.

"Mira, you're alright?" he asked after a moment, stepping at her side.

"I'm thinking." She turned her head to face him, looking incredibly tired. "Thank you, by the way."

"What for?"

"Well, you obviously rescued me. I have no idea how you managed it, there were hardly minutes left, but nevertheless: Thank you."

"You're welcome!" he said cheerfully. "Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything for your ship. It's gone."

"Guessed that much. Anyway," she continued after a deep breathe. "For this is not happening to me for the first time, I know that there is normally some sort of singularity. A crack in space between two universes. Or at least leading out of the universe you are currently staying at. Did you perchance scan for something like this?"

"There was one. It's gone now. Wasn't stable, only lasted for a few seconds," he answered, a bit puzzled about her knowledge regarding parallel universes.

"Dammit."

"What do you mean, it happened before?"

"I'm cursed, that's what I mean. Whenever there is something going on involving parallel worlds, time jumps and whatnot, then it's always me. Always. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating. I'm attracting it. It haunts me. As said, I'm cursed, I really am."

Whilst speaking she had started wandering around the console room, her hands in the pockets of the dark blue jacket she was wearing, which looked suspiciously like a uniform.

He knew she had travelled through time before, because of the high levels of artron energy she had in her body. Well, it could happen occasionally, even without a time machine, there where always cracks and rifts in time and space, but considering her age, and as for that she hadn't had much time to gather all the artron particles, it must have happened rather frequently, against all odds.

"Nah, there are no curses," he finally said.

"Then call it destiny. Or rather fate in this case. Whatever you like."

"Fate? Destiny?" He pulled a face. "Really?"

Her only answer was another one of these intense glances, so he decided to let go of this topic for now.

"Where are we anyway? Is this a spaceship?"

He nodded.

"Good. Then would you please be so kind and drop me on some planet with space travel? Proper space travel, FTL. I need a ship somehow. When this singularity is gone, I need to find another one. Somewhen, somewhere. I can't stay here, that's for sure." All tiredness was gone from her face now, and had been replaced by determination. Her sudden chance in mood caught him quite off guard. Maybe it was just the shock about having almost died and now being stuck here.

For she was starting to wander around the room again, he stepped over to her, took her gently by the shoulders and said: "Mira, look at me." When he had her full attention, he continued: "Just let me get this right: You want to be left on a planet, all on your own, without even speaking the native language there. Steal.."

"Borrow!"

"Get your hands on a spaceship that you most likely can't pilot..."

"Oh, you have no idea..."

"And go searching for a singularity somewhere, no, everywhere in the universe, a singularity that most likely does nor will ever exist?" He looked intensely at her, eyes wide and brows arched, searching for any sign that it was just the shock speaking out of her, but there still was nothing but determination. And slowly he started to believe that she did not only mean it, but was also capable of doing so.

"What else do you suggest?" she asked almost angrily, whilst stepping back and out of his grip, her arms crossed. "The language might be a bit of a problem, I admit that, but it's not the first time I'm... organising a spaceship. And by organising I mean borrowing a ship that's not really in use anyway. Not steeling from someone who needs it. And well, about the piloting-thing, the principles of physics apply to everything. It might take some time to figure out how the engines work and such, but it is not impossible. If you know the basic principle, hyperspace travel, linear-flight or whatever, then it's more or less easy. And about finding a singularity... Well, I have no illusions about that. There is next to no hope, and I'm very well aware of that. " She sighed and then continued, her voice hardly more than a whisper, "But what else should I do? Give up without even trying?"


	2. Chapter 2 - Take a look

**Chapter II**

 _Mira's POV_

At her last sentence his concerned face softened. His answer came in a voice as gentle as she had hardly ever heard before: "No. Giving up has never done any good. But maybe you should reconsider your plan. After a good nights sleep, a shower and something to eat."

"Shower?" She wasn't smelling, was she? Not really. Maybe a bit of burned insulation, but...

"There is still blood in your hair," he said with a lop-sided grin.

He was right about reconsidering, she knew it herself. The problems were not just piling in front of her, but right upon her head. Yes, she had been lost before. Countless times. She had been all on her own before. And yes, even the whole situation had been completely hopeless before. But not all at once like it was the case right now. Even the times she had been lost in another universe she had either been not alone, or it had been more or less clear from the beginning that she could make it back. It hadn't been easy, but there had been at least a hint of what to do next. Not to mention that most of the times she knew exactly who was behind it and that it had all been for a reason. But this time...

She didn't doubt that she could get her hands on a ship. It would only be a matter of time. And if she had anything now then it was time. But what then?

Suddenly she realised she was still starring into his big, warm and dark eyes.

"There is one more thing...," she said absent-mindedly, mainly to pull her out of the beginning despair and not to get completely lost in the deep gaze of the strange alien in front of her.

"Hmm?"

"Well. Thing is. I don't know if it's you or someone else on your ship. But... well, there is some sort of telepathic or empathic contact. Basically, I don't mind that. But it would have been nice to be asked beforehand." Actually, she _did_ mind in that case. She was used to being able to shut out any – or almost any – telepathic attempts to read her mind. But if it was really him he should know her point by now and she could spare herself the words. Simultaneously she tried one last time to shut the strange presence out of her mind, unsuccessfully as before. Besides this time it seemed that the lights dimmed for the fracture of a second.

He looked at her bewildered for a moment before a wide grin formed on his face. "Oh. Oh Mira, that's brilliant. Low level psychic abilities, I forgot. But even then it's astonishing that you're aware of it, with this tiny little human brain of yours."  
She coudn't help herself, but it almost seemed as if he was about to hug her.

"So it is you? And by the way, no need for insults," she said whilst observing him carefully and taking a slight step back. Just by way of precaution. He was still grinning manically at her.

"No it's not me. And when did I insult you?"

She took a deep breath. Aliens. All right. Probably he really didn't mean it.

"So who is it then?"

"The TARDIS."

"Who?" He really could be a bit unnerving.

"My ship. She's called the TARDIS..."

"Wait. Your ship is a _she_. And she is able to make telepathic contact. Well... I'm sorry. I'm still processing the implications of what you've just said with my tiny little human brain" _Ouch. Epic fail in Inter-Species-Communications and diplomacy._ Sometimes her sarcasm got the better of her, she just coudn't help it. "But whoever there is in my mind, it certainly felt like it is alive. I clearly got an emotional response. So... " She looked at his face and suddenly knew what he was about to say.

"Well, she _is_ alive. A sentient being. And she creates a telepathic field. Translates stuff and such...Normally you're not supposed to be aware of it, that's why I didn't thought about mentioning it. It's not a bad thing, really," he replied innocently.

She looked around her. Now it all made sense. The constant presence, as if it was surrounding her. What basically was the case. She even had encountered living spaceships before, although under way less friendly circumstances.

"All right. I'm sorry. I really am. It just was a bit of a misunderstanding," she said into the console room, for it obviously really wasn't some sort of attack. It.. _She_ just did what she was supposed to.

"Sorry? What for?"

"I tried to shut her out. I think it upset her a bit."

He starred at her, his brows raised and an almost hurt expression on his face.

"Hey, I said I'm sorry."

"So... you're a telepath then?" he asked now seemingly interested.

"What? No..." Oh for gods sake, not that discussion. Not now. "Look, it's a bit complicated. Basically, I'm an empath. I can't read any thoughts. At least as long as the other one isn't a telepath himself. I somehow..." She suddenly stopped talking as she caught the expression on his face. Even without getting his emotions, it was clear to see that he fully understood the implications of being confronted with every feeling and emotion around you. And to not just see them, but to feel them like they were your own.

If it was merely an intellectually understanding or out of his own experience, she just couldn't tell.

"I somehow can interact with psychic abilities, so if someone is actually reading my mind I can get into his at the same time..."

If he would just stop starring at her like that.

"But don't worry, from you I hardly get anything. Happens rarely, but happens. Maybe it's due to your brain structure or you're blocking me out or something like that...," her voice trailed off.

"Why would I worry?" Again this soft and gentle tone, sending chills down her spine.

 _Get yourself together, Mira. You have been around for a good deal more than a thousand years now, and have faced way weirder situations like that._

"Well, most people do. Even if they pretend they don't, deep down inside they are afraid. Maybe because you can learn to hide your thoughts - at least the ones on the surface - but your emotions? Seems to be pretty hard. Funny thing is, people tend to lie more to themselves than to others. But that's one of the things they worry about the most. That I catch them lying to me or someone else."

"Must be quiet lonely then, mustn't it?"

"Hm," she shrugged. "You get used to it. Actually, I'm not that lonely. Rather the opposite. It's hard to find a place where I really am on my own. Living next door to someone can be a bit hard. But I have learned to sort it out over time. What's me and what's someone else," she said with a smile, that just quite didn't reach her eyes. "Oh, well, there is one thing: No one wants to play poker with me. Never liked it anyway."

He most likely meant his question in a completely different way. Yes, it could be lonely, because keeping a relationship or even a close friendship with someone who knows everything about your feelings and to whom you can't cheat or lie in any way was something most people just couldn't stomach. But that would have gone way to far for now.

On the other hand, she never had been the kind of person for relationships. She could get along quite well on her own. Besides that, she had a few close friends, mostly the other mutants, her father and his old friends who were also immortal, and that had been more than enough for her. She just hoped she would see them ever again...

"So, if you hardly get anything, there must be something? At least enough to instantly tell that I'm not human. What else do you see?"

She looked surprised by the turn of events as she focused her eyes back on him. She had just been completely lost in thoughts.

 _Great, here we go. He_ is _worried after all..._

"Just for the sake of my curiosity. Give it a go," he continued almost playfully.

"You really want to know? It's not much anyway, as said..."

"I woudn't have asked otherwise, would I?"

"Fine." She sighed and closed her eyes whilst concentrating. She could clearly feel his presence, now that she was focusing her mind especially on him. Focusing on the higher-dimensional energy-lines that every living being was emanating, which she was able to see and comprehend.

He himself was psychic in some way, she could clearly sense that now, so she tried not to interfere with his powers nor with this weird telepathic field. Otherwise she could have easily ended up in his mind, and that was really nothing she wanted right now. Although she couldn't deny that it was somehow tempting...

"Well, you're clearly not human, for humans _feel_ different. More familiar, but we already had that." The hint of timelessness from earlier on stroke her again. "There is something... old about you. No, old is the wrong word. It's more like... Timelessness? Eternity?" She was clearly struggling for the right words. Involuntarily, a picture of the universe came into her mind. Not any universe, this particular universe. His whole essence, his whole existence seemed to be interwoven with it. "Something that stays forever, unique, unchanged, ah hint of the universe itself. Something deep... But there is also something... new, younger. Parts that haven't been there for too long. Something you yourself haven't quite come to terms with yet. Not completely, at least."

She opened her eyes again as if waking from a dream, pure amazement on her face, and also a bit surprised. She knew that she could see people for what they really are, despite of the way they looked or behaved. But this time it sort of caught her off guard. Safe to say that she had never met someone like him. Plus, essentially she wasn't any wiser than before. She just knew that he was probably one of the most incredible beings she had ever met.

She awkwardly brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen over her forehead, carefully avoiding his gaze. That was why she normally didn't force things like that unless it was necessary. You never know what you're about to see. Although she could deal with that – at least most of the times, but some people just didn't like what they've been told.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He looked at her in mere and utter surprise. How could this be possible? That was way beyond everything he had ever seen when it came to psychic abilities in humans. On the other hand, he knew nothing about the universe she came from and the humans there. But she definitely was as human as anyone could be, for he had scanned her. Besides the obvious changes in her brain structure being responsible for her psychic talents there was nothing out of the ordinary.

She really had seen _him_. Without knowing anything about him, without even getting into his mind, she had just recognised who, or better, what he was. Of course, it had all been just skin-deep. She couldn't have seen any of the things so carefully locked away in his mind. But the things she had said were right. Even down to her last sentence. It was true, his last regeneration wasn't that long ago, and although he had quite settled into his new self by now, it was just that: quite. Maybe 99.7%. He was almost certain that there was more than what she had said, but he also knew that words were quite inadequate when it came to describing things like this.

 _Who is she?_

"You asked for it," she finally said quietly and somehow apologetic, pulling him back into reality. She was studying the floor as if her life was depending on it.

"Yes, I guess I did," he replied and she finally looked up and into his eyes. The expression he saw there confirmed that there was more than she had been able to express with words. "And it's fine. No harm done," he said with a soft smile.

A sudden urge to get into her mind, to join his consciousness with her's rushed over him. To see what was really going on in there, to see who she really was. He fought it back as quick as it had come over him. He didn't dare think about it, let alone asking her.

Although she seemed to be quite open-minded when it came to these things, she was a human after all. And humans simply weren't a telepathic species and as for that seldom overly enthusiastic about anything remotely connected to mind-reading. Besides, it would mean showing her even more of himself. Not an option.

Anyway, he would find out sooner or later by merely observing her what was going on behind these incredible steel-grey eyes, which were now resting at him without any further sign of self-consciousness in them. Actually, he could even see a kind of composure in them, which appeared to originate from a source strangely odd and... old, almost ancient. Something he had never seen in the eyes of any human before.

"So...," he started after clearing his throat, "Well, you took quite a blow to the head earlier on, maybe you want to lay down for a while?" She was still looking at him, now with a highly irritating, Mona-Lisa like expression. "Or wash your hair. I think there is a room for you somewhere. I was wondering anyway what she was doing down there... She definitely was rearranging things... And later on we can talk about these plans of yours..."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. At least get myself a bit more civilised again," she answered, whilst ruffling her already messy hair with a self-ironic grin.

"Come on then," he said, walking out of the control room, hands in his pockets, Mira at his heals.


	3. Chapter 3 - Decisions

_So, here is Chapter III. Thanks to the ones already following this Story and liking it :-)_  
 _I have already written a bit further, but if you have any wishes or suggestions of how the Story should go or about how detailed or not detailed it should be, just write me. I can't promise anything, but I will see what I can do. :-)  
And as a little preview: In Chapter IV we will finally go into the first adventure, starting with Tooth and Claw. _

* * *

**Chapter III**

 _Mira's POV_

She wasn't sure if they were walking down the same corridor she had come from. It looked the same, and besides that it was the only corridor leading from the console room. And yet it seemed to head in a different direction. He on the other hand seemed to know exactly where to go. He should, for it was his strange living ship, she thought carefully, not to upset the TARDIS again. She really felt sorry for doing so earlier.

"Here we are!" he exclaimed and stopped suddenly, making her almost running into him.

He opened a door, although she could have sworn that not even seconds ago there had been no doors at all at this side of the corridor. She had explicitly looked at that wall whilst walking behind him. No doors.

"Nice," he said as he looked into the room. Mira froze to the point as she saw what was laying behind the door. It was a room – or to be more precise: an apartment - she knew all to well, although it was centuries ago since she last had stayed there. The whole complex had been demolished by now. Although it was modest and rather small and not a match at all for her huge flat in Terrania, she had always loved it. There had been everything she needed, plus a nice view over the surface of the moon with the Earth hanging in the black sky. OK, no Earth here, for there was no window, but she hadn't just loved it for the sight.

It reminded her of good times. Times filled with security, and a feeling of certainty that everything would last forever, just as it was now. Everything had been just perfect back then. It had been before everything she took for granted had started to fall apart. Of course, new things had replaced the fallen ones, and they weren't necessarily bad, but she had always lingered in the past. Always had been a bit melancholic about it. And as strange as it sounded to herself, the recollection of these times comforted her here and now.

"She did that?" Mira finally managed to say quietly.

"Yupp," he said, especially emphasising the p.

"So I guess she might have forgiven me?"

"Likely.. Although you can never be too sure what exactly is going on with her." He shot her a glance out of huge dark eyes, as innocent as it possibly could be, and she coudn't help but smile at him. The first real warm, non-ironic, non-grinning and non-sarcastic, finally-reaching-her-eyes smile since she woke up on this strange ship of him.

"Well then, good night," he smiled back and off he strode.

 _Good night._ , she thought. Hell, she didn't even know what time it was, because she didn't wear a watch. Sometimes she was wearing some sort of bracelet, with an integrated positronic, watch and radio, but that thing was rather large, to large and unhandy for her small wrists. So she tended only to wear it if it was absolutely necessary. That was why she had left it in the space jet and was now it was gone for good with her ship. Just like everything else. Blown up. Not that there had been much stuff on the small, discuss-shaped ship anyway. No personal items at least. But nevertheless, the only things left of her own universe.

 _Talking about explosions..._

She had closed the door to the apartment and now stood in front of the mirror in the small bathroom. She looked quite exploded herself. Her hair was frizzy and whole strands had managed to escape the huge bun on the back of her head. On her neckline were a view dark spots, most likely some sort of dust or ash. There had been some cables scorched on her ship and she had touched a few of them whilst trying to short-circuit them.

Oh, and there was indeed blood in her hair, and not an insignificant amount. She carefully shook her head, but she didn't seem to have a concussion. Not any more at least. A blow strong enough to knock someone out normally indicates a concussion. How long had she been unconscious?

Didn't matter now anyway, she decided and started to undressing herself, picking the hairpins out of her bun and not a minute later she stood under an unexpected hot shower. With water pressure that actually deserved the term "pressure". She had definitely seen different – meaning worse - things when it came to showers on spaceships.

She stood there for almost ten minutes, without thinking anything. Just giving her brain some time to sort out all the different impressions it had been confronted with over the last hours. As she felt the knots in her mind were loosened enough by the streaming hot water (and she felt a bit guilty for using so much of it), she grabbed one of the bottles standing in the shower. It seemed to be shampoo and thankfully didn't smell much of anything. Just a faint hint of lavender and cloves. She just coudn't stand these intense, chemical smells from most shampoos. Same thing with the piece of soap she found lying there. Soap. Real, actual soap. Hard to come by where she came from, but she had grown up with this stuff, so she was always looking for it, out of pure sentimentality. And yes, maybe also because she was a walking, talking anachronism, as her friend Bully liked to tease her. Well, you need to keep some things constant in your life, don't you?

She froze on the spot for a moment. Of course. If the TARDIS new about this room, then she also new about these things. She looked around herself, almost shyly, mentally thanking the ancient spaceship. And it almost seemed as if there was a happy humming in her head in return.

Short time later she was wrapped in a huge towel and sat on the bed, trying to comp the knots out of her long hair. It fell all over her back to the mid of her thighs. Although it was quite thick, it didn't look to massive, because she rather let it thin out as it was growing instead of trimming the edges. When she was finished, she laid back on the rather soft blankets.

All right, she thought. The pile of problems didn't seem to become any smaller on its own, instead it seemed to overwhelm her more and more with every passing minute. This universe wasn't her own. She could feel it now with every fibre of her mind and body. Everything seemed to be shifted, just ever so slightly, but shifted nevertheless. So even if there were humans and an Earth in this universe, it could never be hers. It was just another planet with some alien species that looked like her lot. She hoped she might be wrong, but at the same time she feared it would be just like this. Anyway, she couldn't stay. Her plan was madness, she was only too aware of that, but not impossible. Although he was right that there was almost no chance of finding such a singularity, she herself saw it a bit different. She somehow knew that it was not that fixed yet. She neither was certain that she was really stuck here, nor that there was a way back. Meaning it was still completely open, undecided. But if she would try to explain that to him, he would probably just think she'd completely lost it.

 _Hey, listen, I sometimes have certain... feelings about future events. Well, you know, if they are decided yet or not. If something is about to happen, no matter what. A bit clairvoyant, you now? In this case I think it's still out in the open, so I just go off searching throughout the universe. You can never now, can you?_

Really. Not.

Or maybe... Judging from what she had _seen_ of him, he might just believe her. Hadn't there always been people with something called a second sight? The gift of precognition? Well, in her case it was different, because she actually was psychic. And there had been proven cases of mutants sensitive to time. What was time other than a form of energy, a dimension? With the right kind of senses, you could easily just see it, scientifically speaking. Dammit, you could even travel through time, forwards and backwards, so the future had already happened.

That humans weren't _meant_ to see the future, was a different topic. She herself found it downright frightening every time she made a "lucky guess" about something about to happen, because she knew that hadn't been guesses at all, but something she just _knew_. It just plopped into her head sometimes.

Anyway, why bother? It was non of his business, for she wasn't accountable to him in any way.

She stood up again, her hair almost dry by now. How long has it been? She didn't fell asleep, did she? She wasn't tired at all. She didn't need that much sleep anyway, due to the small egg-shaped device around her neck. She could feel its gentle pulsations on her bare skin.

Every other night was quite enough, and she just had been sleeping. Well, most likely being more unconscious than sleeping, but that shouldn't't make that much of a difference.

She opened the drawer, hoping for at least a few clean clothes. She would definitely not ask him for a shirt, neither wear her clothes without washing them before doing so. Well, she had at least water and soap, so why not going back to the roots a bit? Wouldn't be the first time, anyway.

Luckily, the drawer was indeed filled with clothes. Shirts, trousers, even underwear. Mostly black, petrol, dark burgundy and grey in colour, which made her smile. Someone seemed to know her taste...

She went for a black, long sleeved and rather tight fitted shirt, with a neckline high enough to cover the cell-activator, and a pair of black trousers made of a soft and thin cotton fabric with slightly wider legs. No jeans in there, thankfully. Apart from being completely out of date where she came from (took them long enough), she had never liked them. No matter what colour. Just scratchy, stiff and uncomfortable.

She tucked her hair up, a large strand of it was put up until it just fell down to the middle of her back, the rest she comped straight back and draped it around on the back and top of her head to a complicated bun. Well, it just looked complicated, plus she had practice in doing that for ages now and could do it almost blindly. She finally looked at herself in the mirror, quite satisfied. No more exploded hair and the smell of clean clothes rather than burned plastic insulation in her nose. She didn't search for any make-up, because she hardly ever put it on anyway.

She put on her shoes and finally headed for the console room. For a moment she thought about following the corridor in the opposite direction, for he didn't explicitly say not to wander around. On the other hand, it would have stretched his hospitality a bit too far, she guessed.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He was under the console, deeply buried in cables and pipes and calibrating things. At least he pretended to, actually he was just messing around a bit, giving his old girl a bit of attention and making sure everything was as it should be. And killing some time. Mainly killing time. How long did humans need to sleep? Around eight hours? Plus about one hour for showering and stuff. At least he could think it all through now. Not that he was speculating again what it was about her that so outright stroke him. He would find that out anyway, if she would stay here. If she wanted to. It would be really interesting to travel around with someone like her, judging from what he had seen of her so far.

Whilst thinking, he was following a cable with his hand in search for any damages. He was really drawn to her, he realised, even now that he knew her for hardly a few hours. Not to mention the way she had looked at him and what she had said about him. How she had _seen_ him. That had touched him deeper than he liked to admit even to himself. And he coudn't have that. Not again. Hang on to someone he knew he would lose sooner or later. Not that he really believed that there would be a way back for her, but she was human after all and would die of old age long before him.

He wasn't even sure why he had behaved as he did earlier on. He had almost challenged her about her psychic abilities. Well, almost? What did came over him?

"What's that now, old girl?" he asked as gently as absent-mindedly, as he suddenly held a whole bunch of tangled cables in his hands. Carefully he continued searching for blank spots, de-tangling as much of them as possible. Maybe he shouldn't try to make her stay, if she really was about to stick to her plan. He could help her as far as possible; he had no doubt that she would make her way, as capable as she appeared to be. Maybe he should even send her away no matter what, for he hadn't offered her to stay yet...

"Ouch! What was that for?" he cried out as a strike of rather high voltage hit his fingers, sending sparks flying around and making him let go of the cables and pull back his hands.

"Got it," he whispered whilst rubbing his fingers. It really did hurt this time.

"Carefully," he heard a worried voice from above. "You alright?"

"Yeah, nothing happened."

"Good. Please try not to fry yourself, for I'm afraid I'm not very good at first aid when it comes to your lot. Never met someone like you before."

"I'll give it my best."

"I hope so," she said, her voice now way closer than before.

He finally looked up. There she was, sitting on the floor of the console room, looking down on him and still obviously worried. "That were quite some sparks. Sure that nothing happened?"

"I'm fine. But maybe you should better not touch anything down here. Humans are a bit more sensitive to electricity."

"I never would dare."

He looked at her sceptically, but she obviously meant it.

"Mira, could you please give me this... thing. There, behind you."

She turned around her left side.

"No, other side. That... Thing."

"Which one? There are all sorts of things lying around!"

"This one. The long stick-ish thing. That..."

She grabbed randomly one of the at least four stick-ish things and handed it to him.

"This one?"

"Yes," he smiled broadly and continued in fixing the blank spots on the cable.

"Listen, about that plan of yours...," he started, whilst freeing himself from cables and pipes before finally hopping up to the actual floor of the console room, closing the maintenance hatch behind him. She also stood up, arms crossed again in a somehow defensive demeanour. "Yeah, I know. Sounds absolutely nuts. But anyway, you won't stop me."

"Why would I do that? Well, yes, it might sound a bit... ambitious. A bit more ambitious, probably. I mean, the really impossible kind of ambitious, like finding a single and specific drop of water in all of time and space-kind of plan."

"Thanks. Don't you think I know that by now?"

"What? Oh, sorry. Was that rude? Didn't mean that."

"Yes. Well.. No. You are right, basically. Just..."

"Hm?" he looked straight at her, because she clearly made the impression as if she wanted to say something more.

"Nothing. Never mind."

"Well, what I was about to say...," he continued, starring intensely at her, "Maybe you could just stay here. With me..." he stopped as he saw the bewildered expression growing on her face.

"No no no. That sounded a bit odd, didn't it? What I wanted to say was: You are looking for a ship to travel around to find a way back. Well, as a matter of fact, I am doing pretty much the same thing. Well, besides looking for a way home, obviously. But the travelling thing. So, if you like, you could just stay here. At least for a while. Or so. And trust me, if you want to find something in all of time and space, there is no better ship than the good old TARDIS." The TARDIS hummed in consent, as he watched her, head held high, hands in his pockets, waiting for an answer. She appeared to be a bit knocked over by his speech.

"So... This is what you do. Just travel around? For a living?"

"For a living? Oh, I understand. Nah, don't need that."

"Don't need what? I mean, where do you get things from? This seems to be a rather large ship, and even so she is alive she can't just exist from... air and love alone!"

"Air and love?"

"It's just a saying," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"Mira, it's really just like that. I don't need any money or whatever. I'm really travelling around just for the sake of it."

"So, and where's the catch?"

"What catch?"

"Well, your hospitality already extended quite far, for which I'm really grateful, but you surely know that I can't give you anything in return, because I literally don't have anything left."

"Why are you humans always so materialistic?"

"What? Well, that actually was a bit rude. I'm just trying to make up for..."

"Good. I meant that one. But for the record: There is no catch."

She still seemed to be far from convinced.

"So, are you doing that often? Inviting people you hardly know to come along with you?"

"Well, yes..., " he answered, rubbing the back of his head. "Sometimes it's nice to have a companion on board..."

At this moment, her face dropped. "Excuse me?", she managed to say. "Maybe we should first come clear about the meaning of the word _companion_ in this case."

"What? I meant the obvious meaning of the word. What were you thinking?"

"Not much to be honest. But I have heard the weirdest things and proposals over time regarding this... topic. You have to admit, that whole stay-with-me-thing from earlier on made it sound a bit strange."

"Well, fine, now that we apparently have the same understanding of the word companion, what do you say?"

"I say: Yes. I stay. Thank you. Just one more thing: Companions. That's all there is and all there ever will be. From both of us."

"Brilliant. That's completely fine with me."

He hold out his hand, and said as she took it, "Welcome on board, Mira Rhodan."


	4. Chapter 4 - Rose & Tooth and Claw Pt 1

**Chapter IV**

 _Mira's POV_

"Thank you... Doctor." She still wasn't used to that sort of name. "So, what now?"

"Well, pick up a friend, and then... we'll see," he said, whilst enthusiastically jumping around the console, flipping switches and pulling levers.

"Who? Someone like you?" He looked at her, and just for the fracture of a second it seemed as if a shadow had fallen over his eyes. It was gone before she was sure she had even seen it and not just imagined it all along.

"Nah. Human. Rose. That's her name. From good old Earth. She's just visiting some friends. The two of you should get along quite well. She's around your age, I guess. How old are you?"

"Thirty," she answered without hesitation. It wasn't even a lie. She really was thirty, biologically speaking. That was the age when she had gotten the cell-activator, that little device around her neck and stopped ageing.

"Oh, well... Are you sure? No wrinkles there...," he answered as he studied her face intently for a few moments.

"Yes, I am quite sure," she said with a lop-sided grin. "You don't have to have wrinkles at the age of thirty. Stayed out of the sun."

"Anyway. Rose is nineteen, so you really should get along great. She's really nice," he said with a somehow manic smile.

"Yeah, I'm sure we will," she managed to answer. To be honest, she didn't even know exactly how old she was. Somewhat between a thousand and fifteen-hundred, but it was also a bit complicated to calculate it, considering time-jumps and time she had spent.. elsewhere. The last time she had done that had been around her thousandth birthday. Then she had halfway kept track for about two or three centuries, but this had been a while ago now. A lot of things had happened since then, and time was really running by fast... It didn't matter anyway. Her father was living for over two thousand years now, Atlan had been around for even more than twenty-thousand years by now. (Well, although ten-thousand of them he had overslept in some sort of stasis.) She herself had seen the rise and fall of empires, literally. So what was the point in counting single years?

"Ready? You maybe want to hold on to something..."

She did as she was told and grabbed the handrail, looked at him and nodded. "So off we go!" he yelled, then pulling a lever, and the whole ship seemed to come alive. Really alive. As if she had been half asleep all the time. Now she clearly was in her element. The engines were producing a sound that Mira had never heard before. But she could clearly feel that the TARDIS liked this sort of flying much more than what she was doing before.

"Inertia dampeners are overrated anyway, huh?" she finally gave in to the urge to comment the bumpy flight.

"Ah, that's nothing," he said, and right now she wasn't sure if he wasn't just mad.

She was about to make another more or less intelligent remark about the flight, as she felt something odd. Something that made the fine hairs on her arm and in her neck stand up and her head tingle. A feeling she she had felt before and she would never ever forget again. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Who the hell was he? He didn't seem to notice her glaze, for he was occupied with the several switches on the console.

"Here we are," he finally said, pulling the same lever again. "Solar System, Earth, England, London, Powell Estate, February the 7th, 2006."

"Finally a date. And just a _bit_ off to my own universe," she said with a distinct undertone in her voice. She had to talk to him about what had just happened, but probably not right now. She had a certain suspicion, and if that was true, then...

"Why? When did you come from?"

"March the 27th, 4197 A.D. Or 610 NGC, depends on what you prefer."

"NGC?" he asked, slightly puzzled.

"New Galactic Calculation of time. Never gotten used to it myself. Not in all its 610 years of existence. After all this time I am still converting it to A.D.," she answered.

"What!?" Now he looked really puzzled and had completely stopped in his tracks.

 _You have understood exactly what I've just said._

"I said I never really came to like it. Not over all these years. So, let's pick up that friend of yours," she finally replied, smiling lightly.

She wasn't sure why she was doing that. Teasing him like that. To say it was fun would have put it wrong. It was rather... some sort of challenge. Well, he had started it by asking her what she was seeing, hadn't he?

"Fine." He swung around and grabbed a brown coat that was hanging over one of the pillars next to the door.

 _Door?_

It was a wooden door. Totally didn't fit in with the rest. She wondered how she had managed to miss it until now. She was about to ask if he really had just landed a spaceship that size in the middle of London in the year 2005, but right at this moment he pulled open the door and looked at her as if waiting for her to step out first.

She stepped alongside him and looked out. First thing she noticed was the cold air. It was february, after all. Second thing was that they seemed to be in some sort of backyard, between high-rise buildings. It looked not that different from what she new from the 1960s, the time when she was around Roses age, back in her universe. She finally stepped outside, her arms wrapped around herself in an attempt to keep her warm.

 _He really just landed a huge spaceship in the middle of a city of an apparently pre-space-flight civilisation, if you don't count the landing on the moon as real space-flight. If they have even been there in this universe._

Besides that the ship couldn't really be that big if it fitted in this backyard, she thought whilst turning around. Something was really odd...

And then she saw it. A blue box. A small wooden blue box. Police Box it said. She had no idea what exactly a Police Box was, because she didn't came from Great Britain or any other country were English was the native tongue. To her it assembled something like a phone box. Although were she originally came from, they were yellow and smaller and made of metal. The Doctor was still leaning in the door frame, smiling like a little boy at Christmas.

She couldn't help herself but to smile with him.

"So," she said as she stood in front of him again. "Interesting airlock you have here," whilst peering around him and inside the ship.

"Yeah, a bit old school. How do you like it?"

"Oh, it's lovely." She carefully shoved her hand through the door frame, as if searching for something.

"No transmitter field?" she asked.

He just shook his head in response.

"Well," she finally managed after taking a deep breath. "If this is what I think it is, than it is really, really cool."

"Cool?" he winced.

"Yeah. I'm also a bit old school sometimes. Fascinating. Genius. Whatever you like."

He looked at her somehow doubtfully.

"No, seriously. That really _is_ amazing. I would have never believed that this is even possible," she continued, whilst first leaning inside the TARDIS and then gently touching her wooden hull.

"So, what do you think it is then?" he finally asked.

"A concept, well, rather a theory... No, to be honest, not even that. A highly hypothetical thought, which, if mentioned, could almost certainly ruin your scientific reputation for good. But there it is."

"So?" he asked again, standing right next to her, his face turned to hers. She could even feel his cool breath on her cheek.

 _Stop starring at me like that._

"Um, did I not just tell you that no one will ever take me serious again in the world of science? ... Well, on the other hand it doesn't matter anyway I suppose, for my scientific reputation had gone to hell ages ago."  
She smiled mischievously at him, before finally saying: "Transdimensional Engineering. The theory of forming and folding the dimensions of space like... well, like that. Practically creating a new universe inside the universe. With its own reference point, more or less completely independent from the outside universe. And with different dimensions. It has always been doubted, although it is proven by now that the dimension of time can be bend and intertwined with itself. So why not space. Just because we didn't have the energy sources nor the mathematics for doing so, doesn't mean it is impossible, does it? Well, obviously it's not impossible, for..." She trailed off and pointed at the inside of the TARDIS.

"Saying it out loud really does sound pretty mad. And it doesn't explain the wooden hull and the... airlock," she added. "Please, tell me I'm wrong."

"Well, it indeed needs a certain amount of energy...The mathematics are a bit complex too, but not too much," he said. She looked at him, the full implications just dawning on her.

"How much bigger on the inside is she?"

He just glanced right at her, arching his brows.

"All right. I guess tiny little human brain really wasn't an insult after all...," she finally admitted, and before he could reply anything, they heard the somehow angry shouting of a woman behind them, making him instantly look genuinely shocked. "That's Jackie. Her mother...," he whispered.

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

She had just wanted to visit her mother and some friends of her. But of course, this would have been to easy. Not only that the Doctor had preferred to stay in the TARDIS, he also had called her not an hour later, only to tell her that he was on his way to investigate some sort of emergency signal. Or at least something the TARDIS had told him, she'd had a hard time understanding him over the phone, for he was trying to synchronise his flight with some small spaceship and for that jumping all around the console. He promised her to be back in no more than two hours. But hell, he got it wrong before, didn't he?

So instead of going out with friends, she sat in the kitchen with Mickey and her mother, drinking tea and listening for the sound of the TARDIS. It has been almost five hours now, and she grew really anxious. What if something had happened to him? What if he really got it wrong and woudn't be back for a year or even longer? But at least she didn't think he would deliberately leave her, after all they've been through by now.

When finally the faint sound of the engines of the ancient Time Ship reached her ears, it was Jackie who jumped up instantly. "Who does he believe he is? Does he have any idea at all about how much you were worrying? Oh, I will tell him, that's for sure!" And out she was. "Mum!" Rose yelled after her. This was going to be embarrassing. Not that she didn't plan on having a view words with him herself, but Jackie could just keep herself out of it. She looked at Mickey, searching for help, but he just grinned at her. She knew exactly what his opinion of the Doctor was. She sighed and ran after her mother. By the time she had gotten outside and reached the backyard, Jackie was already blustering at him. She knew she just meant well, or at least she hoped so. After all she didn't seem to have slapped him by now.

"... and you really thought you could avoid me by just staying in this weird box of yours?" Rose heard her saying, before Jackie gave him a big hug and a even bigger kiss on his cheek, causing him to wince.

Then she saw something that made her heart drop right into her stomach. He wasn't alone. There was a girl with him, or should she rather say, a woman?

"Rose!" he yelled as he saw her, smiling all over his face, and finally seeing a chance to evade Jackies attempts to snog him any further.

He stepped over to her and gave her a bone-crushing hug. For a second all her anger and worries were forgotten, and she could do nothing more than to return the hug, feeling his cool breath on her skin and taking in his alien, yet by now familiar scent that reminded her a bit of honey. As they finally let go of each other, she peered over to the girl... _woman_...who was standing next to the TARDIS, giving the impression of feeling somehow out of place. Or rather _being_ out of place. The Doctor followed her eyes, and as if he had just forgotten the woman for a moment, he hit his forehead and said: "Stupid me. May I introduce you? Rose Tyler, Mira Rhodan.", smiling at them both. Suddenly Jackie, still standing behind him, cleared her throat. "Oh, and Jackie Tyler."

Rose examined her closer, as she took her hand. She was strikingly beautiful, what somehow made her heart sting. Well, maybe beautiful was not really the right term. For her taste, she was way to pale, way to skinny – although rather the dancer-yoga-kind of skinny than the feed-me-kind, her hair-do looked like something straight out of one of Mickeys weird sixties science fiction movies (besides that, she had really gorgeous hair, Rose had to admit) and she was wearing no make-up at all and dressed completely in black. But no matter how Rose looked at it, she somehow felt threatened by her appearance.

"Hi Rose, nice to meet you," Mira said, smiling softly at her.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too," she finally managed to say, letting go of Miras hand. All right, fine. She really was beautiful, sort of, in a charismatic, making-heads-turn kind of way. Nevertheless, there was something weird about her, mainly about her huge, cool and piercing grey eyes, about the way she looked at her, but she coudn't quite put her finger on it.

"She will stay with us for a while...", the Doctor said.

 _Wonderful. Not._

"I hope you don't mind, Rose," Mira fell in, frowning. "'Cause I'm afraid I'm sort of stuck here..."

 _Even better._

Rose managed to smile at her. She seemed to be nice, though, but Rose still didn't like the idea of having her along.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

 _Great. Just great. Men. Aliens. Male aliens. Could really drive you mad._

They were sitting together in an incredibly huge library, drinking tee and eating chips. Well, so much for dinner, she thought. She tried to keep herself in the background, for her first encounter with Rose had been more than enough for her.

Above all, Rose wasn't even the problem. Rose was a nice, beautiful, really good hearted, strong, determined and compassionate young woman. Or more likely, girl. Nineteen, although quite mature for her age. And... head over heels in love with this strange alien, calling himself the Doctor.

And Mira couldn't blame her for that. He really was fascinating. Not to mention, extremely handsome. And intelligent. Really, really intelligent. That mind-blowing-nerd-ish kind of intelligent. And god dammed psychic and/or telepathic, what was hard enough to come by in that great big universe. (OK, maybe you have to be psychic yourself to fully appreciate that. The feeling of touching each others mind. Meaning mutually touching, not just one-sided...) And he definitely had the most beautiful hands she had ever seen. Under different circumstances she woudn't be to sure that she hadn't fallen for him herself, but right now it was for so many reasons completely unthinkable. Maybe that was the _privilege_ of being really old and immortal. Sort of. Been hurt for so many times that you didn't just fall like that for someone anymore. And even if she allowed herself to do so, acting out anything in that direction was just out of the question. And she knew exactly she would be able to stick to this. Let alone for her own sake.

That very alien, now sitting right there, was peering to her all the time, obviously being _completely_ oblivious to Roses feelings for him. Feelings that washed over her like waves and made her feel as if she was nineteen herself all over again.

It really was nice and whatnot of him to let her stay, but he should have told her about his relationship or close friendship or whatever you wanted to call it to Rose. For he didn't think about it, he must either be incredibly blind or had just no idea about humans. Or both.

And right now, although she herself might have given him something to think about earlier on - by mentioning to not getting used to something over a period of 610 years, or by talking about all this transdimensional engineering stuff - he should really focus on Rose, and safe everything else for later.

Or at least stop insisting. They were planning on going on some sort of trip, and even though she was really in for a distraction, she had already made three attempts to convince him that she would rather stay here. Alone. Rose on the other hand seemed to had gotten the hint by now, but he just kept on insisting.

She was almost on the verge of faking a migraine attack (which at least would have made it very clear to Rose, plus, if she stayed any longer in this awkward, exhausting situation, she wouldn't have to fake that much at all...), when Rose finally said: "You really don't have to stay here all on your own. It will be great, I promise.", and gave her an adorable tongue-between-teeth-smile. It wasn't so much what she said, but how she said it. Or more likely, her feelings as she said it. She was slowly feeling less threatened and more self-secured.

"All right, then," Mira finally gave in.

 **...**

Not much later she was in the console room with the Doctor, waiting for Rose, who just wanted to chance. Mira herself had stopped by her room to look for some sort of jacket, because it was a bit on the cold side for her taste in the TARDIS – only to find her uniform jacket together with the rest of her clothes folded and cleaned on her bed. By now she also had realised from Roses talking that the TARDIS actually could travel in time. Her feelings hadn't betrayed her after all. That was a thing she clearly needed to talk about with the Doctor, but rather at a quiet moment, not now. And not with Rose about to bump in any second. The young girl took everything a bit too easy for her taste, but on the other hand, she probably hadn't seen the damage time travel could do. Yet.

So instead she decided to go for some small talk.

"Has anyone ever gotten lost in this ship of yours? It really seems to be huge."

He looked at her as if he wasn't sure what to make of her remark.

"Well, you could even get lost in one of our ships, at least if you don't have a radio. Of course, the different sections and decks are marked, but you have to know the system behind it...," she continued.

"Your ships are also bigger on the inside?" he finally asked, stopping for a moment in fiddling with the console.

She looked at him in surprise for a moment before she got it. "Um. No. The ship I was flying with was just some sort of ship's boat. Our battleships are a _bit_ larger. Ball-shaped and about 2.5 kilometres in diameter."

"Battleships," he replied and looked at her in distaste. "You humans. Always going for battles.."

"Hey, they are just called battleships. In fact they are used for all sorts of things. Exploring, travel, even trade now... The name has just... developed historically, I guess. And yes, sometimes we actually have to defend ourselves," she said in the sudden urge to justify not only herself, but also humanity as a whole. So much for small talk.

"You're not with the military, are you?" he asked.

She looked deliberately down at her thigh-long, band collared jacket, which had the colourful, abstract symbol of the LFT, the League of the Free Terrans, on the front and three silver stripes and one star of her rank on the epaulettes, not to mention the symbol of the mutant corps, a stylised brain surrounded by rays of light on the left upper sleeve. Albeit this symbol she wore simply out of sentimentality. Well, took him quite a while figuring that out.

"What if?"

Before he could reply anything, thankfully Rose showed up. She really had changed, for now she was wearing a ridiculously short jeans-mini skirt, a pink t-shirt and black, semi-transparent tights.

"What do you think of this? Will it do?" Rose asked, beaming at the Doctor.

"In the late 1970s? You'd better be off in a bin bag. Hold on, listen to this." He put a silver disk in some sort of player, that looked suspiciously like an old CD or DVD. Almost instantly music started playing. It sounded quite good, although Mira had never heard it before.

"Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number One in 1979," the Doctor said, right before singing along to the music. Mira couldn't help herself but to smile. It was weird, just weird. Although somehow weird in a good way.

"Never heard of Ian Dury, but what about Pink Floyd?" she suddenly asked.

"What's about them?" he replied, shouting over the music.

"Well, have they ever existed here?"

"Oh yes. So, who do you want to see? Ian Dury or Pink Floyd?" he asked them both.

"How'd you mean? In concert?" Rose wanted to know.

"What else is a TARDIS for?" he replied, dancing around the console. "I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar... the first anti-gravity Olympics... Caesar crossing the Rubicon... Pink Floyd performing The Wall in London, 1981 or... Ian Dury at the Top Rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, 21st November, 1979. What do you think?"

Mira took a quick look at Rose, who really didn't seem to care for Pink Floyd, and finally said: "Sheffield it is then."

"Hold on tight!" The bumpy flight started again, and whilst Mira actually managed to stay on her feet, Rose and the Doctor ended up lying on the floor, laughing their heads of. At least the tension from earlier on was gone, Mira thought, as the Doctor dragged Rose to her feet, and before she knew what was going on, he had also taken her by the hand, pulling both of them with him to the door.

"1979. Hell of a year!" he said as he let go of them, grabbing his coat.

"China invades Vietnam... The Muppet Movie! Love that film. Margaret Thatcher... urgh... Skylab falls to Earth... with a little help from me... nearly took off my thumb," he babbled whilst opening the door.

"I like my thumb. I need my thumb. I'm very attached to..."

As they had hardly stepped outside, the Doctor ahead of them, Mira looked straight into the barrels of guns.

"... my thumb."

Instantly the three of them raised their hands, not one second to late, for a clicking sound reached Miras ears. A sound she new only to well. Primitive guns. Primitive but nevertheless deadly.

"1879. Same difference," the Doctor murmured.

" You will explain your presence. And the nakedness of this girl," one of the soldiers demanded, apparently the leader of the bunch. Whilst saying naked he had looked rather irritated at Rose. Well, she was quite naked indeed, at least for 1879. He also shot a somewhat depreciative glance at Mira. A woman in trousers was probably not much better than nakedness to him.

"Are we in Scotland?" the Doctor asked, in the same accent as the leader of the soldiers. Of course. Scottish. Had been a while since she had heard that sort of accent.

"How can you be ignorant of that?"

"Oh, I'm- I'm dazed and confused. I've been chasing this... this wee naked child over hill and over dale. In't that right, ya... timorous beastie?"

 _Oh bloody hell. That can't be real._

But the soldiers believed him, oddly enough.

"Ooch, aye! I've been oot and aboot," Rose gave it a shot. Not really successfully.

"No, don't do that," the Doctor said quietly.

"Hoots mon!" Rose continued. Even Mira looked now somewhat horrified at her.

"No, really don't. Really," the Doctor tried to convince her. "And for this weird-dressed woman...," he tried to add, but Mira cut in: "My name is Mira, and I am from a far off land. You might have not heard of it, for it is just a small island. Far in the west. It is called Terrania. I was just travelling around with him, and helped him out with this... naked girl." She emphasised her Intercosmo accent even a bit more, for she just knew she would never pass for a native speaker, although her English was absolutely fluent and her pronunciation quite Oxford-like. But nevertheless, you still could hear it. So no point in faking being British or even Scottish.

The Doctor looked at her bewildered, but she didn't care about that right now. The soldier believed her and was quite satisfied with her answer, of that she was certain cause she outright felt it.

"Will you identify yourself, sir?" the Doctor was finally asked.

"I'm Doctor James McCrimmon. From the... Township of Balamory. Eh... I have my credentials, if I may..." He reached carefully into his pockets and produced some sort of ID-Card in a leather wallet. Mira couldn't see what was on it, but the soldiers seemed to be satisfied with it, whilst the Doctor explained further, "As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself."

Then she heart a voice from inside a carriage. It was a rather large company they had encountered here.

"Let them approach."

"I don't think that's wise, ma'am," the leader insisted.

The woman just repeated herself, absolutely unimpressed by the advice just given to her.

"You will approach the carriage. And show all due deference," the soldier finally obeyed.

They did as they were told, Mira and Rose following the Doctor. As they saw who was in the carriage, the Doctor turned around, smiling at them and explained: "Rose, Mira - might I introduce her Majesty Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."

The Queen? Really? What had they stumbled into now?

"Rose Tyler, Ma'am. And my apologies... for being so naked," Rose said apologetic, whilst Mira was still thinking about the implications.

She suddenly felt like she was walking on ice. No, not ice. Thin, incredibly thin glass, so thin she could almost see the cracks forming under their feet, just from standing there. Replace glass with time, and then you got the situation quite right, she thought. This was madness. One wrong word, one wrong action, and all established history could go to hell. Of course it _could_ be the case that they have been meant to be here anyway, but how could she be sure of that? How could anyone be sure of that? Her head was spinning with all the possibilities of messing something up really badly. She just listened with one ear to the conversation, something about an incident and assassination attempts. And that they were supposed to follow them.

 _Great._

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

They were walking amongst the entourage of the Queen, when she wondered: "It's funny though, 'cos you say 'assassination' and you just think of Kennedy and stuff. Not her."

"1879 - she's had... six attempts on her life? And I'll tell you something else: we just met Queen Victoria!" the Doctor answered.

"I know!" she replied, absolutely excited. It was really amazing. Although she was travelling with the Doctor for some time now, and had really seen a lot of things, it caught her every time again.

"She was just sitting there!"

"Like a stamp!" the Doctor said, equally excited. That was one of the things she loved so much about him. Besides everything he had seen in his long life, he was always absolutely enthusiastic about their travels.

"I want her to say 'we are not amused'. I bet you five quid I can make her say it."

"Well, if I gambled on that, it'd be an abuse of my privileges of traveller in time," he refused

"Ten quid?" she asked teasingly.

"Done."

As this was settled, she shot a quick glance at Mira, who had a rather brooding look on her face, her hands shoved into the pockets of her jacket, and, even so she wasn't really that tall, she had a bit of a gangling walk. Right now, she just reminded her a little of the Doctor in his current regeneration. As if she had felt that Rose was watching her, she turned her head to look at them, and then shot a quick glance around. Rose instinctively did the same. No one really close.

Mira stepped next to the Doctor, and then said with her voice down: "I truly don't want to spoil anything. But do you really think this is a good idea?"

"What?" he asked, now looking around himself either.

"That whole time travel thing," she said sharply. And a bit anxious, Rose thought.

"Oh, that! Why? What's about it?"

"It's dangerous! You can't just go somewhere in the past and mess around a bit."

Now she clearly sounded more anxious and worried than anything else, so Rose wanted to reassure her. "It's safe. We did this before. It's OK, really."

Mira just starred at her with wide eyes. A somehow scary glance, almost as if she was figuring out what was going on in her mind. "It's OK? Honestly, Rose, I don't want to offend you in any way, but..."

"Mira," the Doctor fell in. "It is as Rose just said. I know what I'm doing. It's fine. Just be a bit careful."

"How can you possibly know what you are doing?"

"I can."

Mira just starred at him, shaking her head in disbelieve.

"He... Well...," Rose started, then looked at the Doctor. Hadn't he told her? What had he told her at all? Where did she even came from? Rose wasn't even sure if she was human. And how could she be stuck anyway? The TARDIS could reach any place in time and space...

"I know because I'm a Timelord. I know because I see what should happen and what must not happen. Trust me, hm? Besides... You have travelled in time yourself, haven't you?"

Now it was on Rose to stare at Mira in disbelive. "You're a Time Agent?" She suddenly remembered Jack.

"What? No. I've been many things in my life, but certainly never a Time Agent. Haven't even heard of that before," she answered Rose and then turned to the Doctor. "Right. I did travel in time. And maybe this is the reason why I don't take this as lightly as I would have taken it once." She sighed before adding slightly defeated, "Fine. I guess I have to trust you with this for now."

The Doctor just looked at her, an eyebrow raised and apparently not completely convinced.

Rose felt almost sorry for her. She really took this quite hard. Ok, meeting someone like the Doctor could be a bit of a shock, but travelling through time seemed to be too much for her. She wondered what her further expiriences with time travel had been. Couldn't be that much, could it? She didn't appear to be much older than twenty-five or so.

"Timelord?" Mira continued a few moments of walking in silence later, now rather curious. "Never heard of them. So this is what you do? Travel around in time with this incredible ship of yours and see where you end up?"

"Well, basically..."

"You are all just doing this? I mean, the rest of your lot?"

Rose knew how really sensitive that topic was to him and as for that didn't like where this was going at all. So, before the Doctor could answer anything, she exclaimed, "I guess we're there! That must be it. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

A huge, old – or right now, not that old – stately home came into sight.

* * *

 _4evercrazy96: Thank you for writing the first review! :-)_ _Hope you like that chapter, even though I struggled a bit with Rose._


	5. Chapter 5 - Tooth and Claw Pt 2

**Chapter V**

 _Mira's POV_

It was a beautiful estate indeed. And even though she normally had something for these kind of buildings, now she was just thinking about what the Doctor had just said. Timelord. She really had never heard of them. And she had met a lot of alien species in her life. Above that she had no doubts that if a species like this existed in her universe, they would have crossed paths with them sooner or later. They had been around to much, had mingled with cosmic events way to often to just overlook a lot like his.

Was he really able to see... time? It had touched her more than she liked it right now. Maybe she should really talk to him, tell him about the strange feeling she had when she thought about finding a way back or not. About the sense of indecisiveness. Maybe he even knew something about the things to come in this particular case?

And if that hadn't been enough, something was wrong here at Torchwood Estate. Seriously wrong. She could feel it. Like a wall of deceit and distrust surrounding the property. Was it meant to be that way? Or was it just because they had stumbled into the events? She really needed to talk to the Doctor about that too. In private.

"She's a feral child. I bought her for sixpence in old London Town. It was her or the Elephant Man, so...," the Doctor explained Rose's nakedness once more, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Thinks he's funny but I'm so not amused,", Rose made another attempt at winning her bet, making Mira smile. She envied her somehow, but not in a bad way. Envied her youth and her light-heartedness. She almost couldn't remember when she herself had been like that. Had she ever been like that at all? Of course, she still could be childish like hell, most of all together with her old friend Gucky. But yet it was different. Not that.. innocent.

"What do you think, Ma'am?" Rose continued.

"It hardly matters. Shall we proceed?"

They were about to make it towards the house, with Rose telling the Doctor: "So close."

The Doctor on the other hand took interest in a small wooden box that was brought out of the carriage.

"What's in there, then?" he asked.

"Property of the Crown. You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir," Captain Reynold answered. From the frown on the Doctor's face one could clearly tell that he wasn't satisfied at all with that answer.

 **...**

After that, the Queen was given a tour through the house, on which they all followed to finally end up in a rather impressive observatory.

She had tried to tell the Doctor that something was going on, but to no avail. They hadn't been alone, and every attempt she had made to whisper something to him had failed. He on the other hand most likely had noticed that there was something going on, but didn't bother to much.

She took a look around the room. The ceiling consisted of a huge glass-dome, letting in the soft evening light. A model of the solar system was standing in one corner and a few spheres were hanging from the beams supporting the dome, but the most impressive thing in there was a gigantic telescope.

"This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour," the Queen said. Mira just looked at the large telescope in amazement. It was really beautiful.

"All my father's work. Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession - he spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself," Sir Roberts said.

"I wish I'd met him, I like him. That thing's beautiful - can I um...?" the Doctor said, as thrilled as Mira felt about it.

"Help yourself."

All three of them were now examining the telescope. It was an excellent piece of handy-work, she had to admit.

"What did he model it on?" the Doctor asked.

"I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little... shall we say, eccentric. I wish now I'd spent more time with him. And listened to his stories," Sir Robert answered.

In the meantime, the Doctor had taken a look through it.

"It's a bit rubbish," he said, making Mira almost jump.

 _Excuse me?_

Nevertheless, she took a look herself, standing next to him. Well... Rubbish was probably a bit harsh, but...

"How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top, that's stupid kind of a...," he suddenly stopped, before adding to Rose, more quietly: "Am I being rude again?" he said.

"Yep," Rose replied.

"But it really has a lot of prisms,", Mira couldn't help herself. She was still standing next to the Doctor, both of them peering into the refractor now. "Considering our hight above the main sea level, the density of the atmosphere here and the atmospheric disturbances due to that, it would hardly produce any sharp im..." Whilst she was speaking the Doctor was nodding in consent. She suddenly stopped as Rose cleared her throat, and both their heads flew around with a look of guilt on their faces, as if caught with their hands still in the cookie jar.

"But it's pretty! It's very... pretty," the Doctor hurried to say. "Yes. It really is," Mira fell in, grinning awkwardly.

 _Ups. Do they already know about atmosphere? They still are up to some ether-theory, aren't they?_

At least in her own universe at that time they clearly were.

"And the imagination of it should be applauded," the Queen said.

"Mm! Thought you might disapprove, Your Majesty. Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful?" Rose was obviously starting another attempt. "You could easily... not be amused, or something...? No?"

"This device surveys the infinite work of God,", the Queen answered in all possible dignity. The Doctor was just shaking his head at Rose with a slight smile.

"What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath. Steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairytales," the Queen continued.

"Stars and magic. I like him more and more," the Doctor replied cheerfully whilst observing the telescope further.

"Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company," the Queen answerd, before she said to Rose: "Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg."

"That's Bavaria," Mira whispered to Rose, because she didn't seem to know that.

"When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported.", the Queen said to Roberts now.

"So, what's this wolf, then?", asked the Doctor seemingly interested.

"It's just a story," Sir Robert answered, trying to avoid the topic.

"Then tell it.", the Doctor insisted. There it was again, as Sir Robert shot a quick glance at the men from the household staff. That feeling that they were hiding something.

"It's said that...," Sir Robert continued uncomfortably, before Mira had any chance to pull the Doctor aside.

"Excuse me, sir. Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark," he was interrupted by the servant.

"Of course. Yes, of course," Sir Robert answered.

"And then supper. And... could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I'm tired of nakedness.", the Queen said, slightly annoyed, giving Rose another chance. "It's not amusing, is it?" Although it was in vain, for the Queen chose to ignore it. Mira just shook her head with a grin on her face. She really was persistent.

"Sir Robert, your wife must've left some clothes. See to it. We shall dine at seven. And talk some more of this wolf. After all... there is a full moon tonight," the Queen said.

"So there is, Ma'am," he replied, bowed to the Queen. Immediately after that, they all left the room and headed straight for the dining room. No more chance to talk to the Doctor.

* * *

 _The Doctor's POV_

They were all sitting in the dining room now. It was a nice room, dimly lit with candles and outside the great windows just darkness and the full moon.

All except for Rose. The man from the household staff had just excused her: "Your companion begs an apology, Doctor. Her clothing has somewhat delayed her."

"Oh, that's all right. Save her a wee bit of ham," he replied airily.

"The feral child could probably eat it raw," Queen Victoria replied, causing Captain Reynolds to laugh – quite exaggeratedly.

"Very wise, Ma'am! Very witty!" he said

"Slightly witty, perhaps. I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get too excited... I shall contain my wit in case I do you further injury," the Queen said, seemingly not very amused now.

"Yes, Ma'am. Sorry, Ma'am," the Captain said, obviously embarrassed.

"So, maybe you might tell us now a bit about this island of Terrania. Where women are dressed rather unusually and seem to be so much into science," she turned to Mira.

The Doctor also turned to her, as he waited for her to answer.

"As said, it is just a rather small island," she started, looking at the table in front of her. "There is mainly one big city, the city of Terrania. A really beautiful one. There are a lot of large buildings and high towers. Wide streets, even between the towers, high up in the air. All buildings are made of white stone, with silver rooftops. In between them are a lot of parks with lakes and small creeks. It is also called the White City. But when the sun sets, it is just bathed in red, glowing light, reflected by the rooftops and the white walls...," her voice trailed off, and for a moment he could see an incredibly forlorn expression on her face, before she gathered herself and looked at the Queen again.

"It really sounds beautiful indeed," the Queen answered politely interested and with a hint of well covered disbelief. Not covered well enough for him, though.

"You are planing on returning there?" she asked.

"I... Yes. Of course. It is my home."

He felt a sudden rush of compassion for her. He knew exactly what it means to long for something, something that was gone forever. It didn't matter if it all was still there, as she would never see it again. Neither that place called Terrania, nor any of her friends or family.

She herself might have still hope, but he was almost certain that she would never make it back. The universes were practically sealed of. It was just a strange and almost impossible coincidence that had brought her here in the first place. He really had to talk to her about that. It wasn't about giving up. It was merely about accepting the facts.

"Anyway," she said and turned to Sir Robert as the silence was about to grow awkward, "Sir Robert! You promised us a tale of nightmares."

"Indeed. Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a taste for supernatural fiction," the Queen fell in.

"You must miss him.", the Doctor suddenly said, starring intensely at the Queen. That dinner turned out to be rather intense, something he hadn't expected at all. Now here he was. Sitting at that table with all these humans who had experienced so much loss and grief of their own. They were so different from him and yet he felt so united with them in these feelings.

"Very much," the Queen answered sadly and remaining silent as if thinking about someone. "Oh, completely. And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it? Not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but the... hope of some contact with the great beyond. We all want some message from that place... it's the Creator's greatest mystery that we are allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent. And we must wait."

The Queen shook herself out of that line of thought, and he caught Mira's gaze for a moment. Her facial expression had completely changed. There was a sudden softness and tenderness in her features, and a deep, all-embracing sadness in her eyes. Almost as if it was a reflection of his own pain. He knew that this most likely wasn't the case, because she had told him that she couldn't sense his emotions. But instead everyone else's at this table.

"Come! Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters!" the Queen finally broke the silence that threatened to overwhelm them all.

"The story goes back three hundred years. Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found ripped apart and... devoured," he started telling, until he was interrupted by Reynolds.

"Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves. Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, simple as that."

The Queen shot him an irritated glance.

"But sometimes a child goes missing. Once in a generation. A boy will vanish from his homestead," Robert continued.

"Are there descriptions of the creature?" the Doctor asked. There had always been a hint of truth in every tale, and now he was quite intrigued.

"Oh yes, Doctor. Drawings and woodcarvings. And it's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal."

"A werewolf?" the Doctor asked.

"My father didn't treat it as a story. He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast - to have learned its purpose." After a short pause he added regretfully, "I should've listened." He now seemed somehow nervous. "His work was hindered - he made enemies. There's a Monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. The Brethren opposed my father's investigations."

"Perhaps they thought his work ungodly," the Queen said.

"That's what I thought. But now I wonder... what if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet? What if they turned from God and worshipped the wolf?"

The Doctor was only halfway listening by now. The weird wiry man from the household staff was standing by the window and chanting in Latin – lupus deus est – over and over again. Then it finally dawned on him.

"And what if they were with us right now?" he asked.

Suddenly chaos broke out, as if everyone just realised what was going on. Or at least, that there was something going on at all.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

There it was. The thing she had tried to tell the Doctor about all along.

"What is the meaning of this?",the Queen demanded to know, whilst Reynolds suddenly pointed a gun at Robert.

"Explain yourself, Sir Robert!" he shouted.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, they've got my wife," Robert tried to explain himself, but was suddenly interrupted by the Doctor.

"Rose! Where's Rose? Where is she?!" he was now shouting himself.

The weird man from the household staff still continued his chanting. The Doctor didn't seem to care, for he took the hand of Sir Robert and dragged him out of the room. All of a sudden, Mira was left with this strange man, Reynolds and the Queen. For a brief moment she considered following the Doctor, but then decided against it. The situation in here was about to escalate, and maybe she could still prevent that.

"Tell me, sir. I demand to know your intention!" Reynolds shouted at the man from the household staff, but he just kept on chanting.

"What is it you want?" he tried it again, now pointing his gun at him.

 _Not good._

She could sense his nervousness, how confused he was. Now the weird man stopped chanting and turned to Reynolds. "The throne," he said, and out of nowhere, he wrenched Reynolds gun aside and knocked him out. He didn't even bother to to pick up the weapon. For a moment, no one moved.

 _Seriously? You did not just stand there within his reach, not expecting that he would assault you? Beginners mistake._

Mira looked down at poor Reynolds.

"With all due respect, Ma'am, but you really should choose your guards more carefully," she remarked dryly.

The Queen looked at her with an incomprehensible expression, then asked the man: "I take it, Sir, that you halted my train to bring me here?"

"We have waited so long for one of your journeys to coincide with the moon," he answered, so not feeling threatened at all by the presence of the two women that Mira almost felt a bit offended.

"Then you have waited in vain. After six attempts on my life..."

"Yeah, after that you really _should_ have known better when it comes to your guards," Mira repeated herself. She finally had enough. There really wasn't time for that, and now the Queen was even searching for something in her purse, finally coming up with a gun.

 _Not really._

In a sudden and fluent movement Mira herself charged at the man.

He so didn't see it coming. He gathered himself really fast, she had to give him that, but that didn't help him. She turned around the arm he had lifted to hit her, causing him to yell in pain. After a quick blow to his neck he collapsed unconscious on the floor.

The Queen still had the gun in her hand, now pointing it at the unconscious man lying to her feet.

Mira's head spun as she tried to figure out the situation. Was that supposed to happen? The Queen killing this man? And what if she saved him now? He was taken out, there was no need for doing any further harm. Besides that, that would have been cold blooded murder. And that she just couldn't let that happen, no matter what. Above all, they had already intervened too much.

"Put the gun away, Ma'am," she said quietly to the Queen.

"Who do you think you are, child?"

"It doesn't matter who I am. I won't let you murder this man."

"He was trying to assassi..."

"You don't know that. Besides, he is not a threat right now. That would be murder. Have you ever killed with your own hands? A defenceless man for that?" Mira replied, looking directly into the Queen's eyes. "Trust me, you don't want to live with that," she continued as the Queen remained silent, the gun slightly shaking in her hand. "Now put the gun away. And then we'll get out of here. I will protect you, I promise."

After another moment of thought the Queen finally obeyed. "I have seen what you are capable of. I think it really doesn't matter who you are right now," she said, just for the sake of saying anything at all and to get a little control over the situation back. Mira sighed in relief. She knew she could be quite convincing, a thing she had from her father. Or maybe it was due to all her years of experience, or a bit of both.

"Good. Then let's go and search for the Doctor."

 _And Rose._

"I have to get something first," the Queen said, as she had put the gun back into her purse.

"What? I don't think..."

"It is important," the Queen said relentlessly.

"Fine." She felt that she couldn't convince the Queen, so she gave in. No need for further discussions.

For a moment she considered taking the gun that the monk had taken from Reynolds, but decided against it. It was an old thing, she wasn't sure if she was able to hit anything with it, because the energy-weapons she was used to didn't even have a recoil. Plus, that old thing didn't have that much ammunition. Instead she went for a sword that was in a weapon-rack on the wall. It was not only for mere decoration, despite the fact its sharpest days were clearly over. It was well balanced, not too heavy, the grip was long enough so that she could hold it with both hands, and even a relatively blunt sword could inflict more than enough damage.

She shot a last glance at Reynold and the monk. There was no time to separate them, or even to enchain them. So she could just hope that the monk would either wake up after Reynold, or at least not kill him, if waking up first.

* * *

 _So, that was Chapter V. I hoped you liked it as much as I liked writing it. The scene at dinner was one of my favourite scenes in this episode :-)_

 _I'm always a bit uncertain about the level of details I should put into the story. I love to write dialogues without that much happening at all. Or just describing the thoughts, considerations and motivations of people and to philosophise about things, but I'm always a bit afraid that it is too much. So if you want to read more or less of this, just feel free to tell me. :-)_


	6. Chapter 6 - Tooth and Claw Pt 3

**Chapter VI**

 _Doctor's POV_

He was running down a long corridor leading to the cellar, right behind Sir Roberts. He had assumed that Mira had followed him, but as he took a quick look back, she wasn't there. Great. Had he forgotten to tell her not to wander off?

Before he could think about her whereabouts any more, they finally reached a door. He didn't bother to use the sonic and kicked the door right in. On the other side was Rose, yelling at him: "Where the hell have you been?"

She was with a number of maids and a woman that looked like the lady of the house. But the most incredible thing he saw was some wolf-like creature, just freeing himself from a small cage. Maybe the stories about werewolfs had some truth in them after all.

"Oh, that's beautiful," he managed to say, totally enthralled by the creature that now gave the clear impression of being free in no time. As the bars of the cage finally gave in, he was just shouting at the others to get out. He himself was still captured by the sight of the now free werewolf, standing at his full hight in front of him.

As the creature threw the roof of its former cage at him he finally followed the others, slamming the door shut and locking it with his sonic.

They gathered in a room of the estate, where a steward just handed guns to the other men. He used his sonic once more to remove the handcuffs from Rose's wrists.

"It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths - did it say what it wanted?" he asked her.

"The Queen, the Crown, the throne - you name it." Right at that moment, when he had removed the handcuffs, they heard a nasty thumping sound from the cellar. Despite knowing what that had been, he stepped out into the corridor. There it was. The door had proven no hindrance at all to the beast. For a moment he stood eyeball to eyeball with the creature, before returning to the room. Just in time to drag Rose behind the line of men who were awaiting the beast with their guns. He somehow didn't believe that they could do any harm. He even hoped that he would be able to make some sort of agreement with the creature. He hated violence, but there was no way he could stop them now, for the steward already gave the command to fire.

Rose twitched in his grip as the guns came to life with quite some noise. He took a quick look around, still no sign of Mira. Or the Queen, as for that. He just hoped that Mira had stayed with her, and that nothing had happened to them both.

As the smoke from the guns had dissolved, the wolf was gone. Although not for good, he thought. No corpse either, because he hadn't heard the sound of the impact that its dead body would have made.

"All right, you men, we should retreat upstairs, come with me," he said, taking command.

"I'll not retreat," the steward objected. The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault."

"Yes. Sure. Must have vanished into thin air as it died. Now come upstairs!" he tried it again, now clearly angry.

"And I'm telling you, Sir, that I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall," the steward proofed to be really pigheaded. These humans. Couldn't they just listen to him? Just for once?

The steward was now walking towards the corridor to take a look for himself. The Doctor followed him with his eyes, anger and concern showing on his face.

"Nothing there," the steward said, as he was walking back. "Must've crawled away to die..." At that very moment he was lifted up and through the ceiling by the wolf, followed by some rather unpleasant sounds.

It took him only seconds to gather himself. "There's nothing we can do!" he said and grabbed Rose's hand once more.

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

The Doctor dragged her with him, Sir Robert right behind them. For a moment she wondered where he had left Mira, but being brutally honest, she really didn't care that much right now. She wouldn't be dead, would she? He would have told her if something hat happened to Mira, she thought. Besides, there was a werewolf at her heels, who had just killed a lot of poor men. Number one on her list of problems right now.

The three of them hurried into a room, and as soon as they were in it, the Doctor sealed the door with his sonic.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" she heard Sir Robert. He was really pleased to see his Queen alive and apparently unharmed. And there she was. Mira. Walking somewhat protective in front of the Queen... With a sword in her hands. Really? But somehow she gave the impression as if she knew how to carry a weapon like that.

"Mira! There you are!" the Doctor exclaimed cheerfully, rushed over to her and gave her a big hug, carefully avoiding the sword she held now to her side. Rose felt a sudden hint of jealousy creeping up from her stomach as she watched them. That wasn't right. She didn't even want to have Mickey along, not to speak of another woman.

"Didn't I tell you to not wander off?" he asked reproachfully, letting go of her. Mira on the other hand seemed to be a bit overrun by him showing his affection in that way. But she had hugged him back with her free arm, Rose had clearly seen that.

"Um. No? Besides, it was you who ran off. Should I leave her Majesty alone with this strange monk? Unfortunately, Reynolds was rather brave than of any real help."

"What happened to the monk?" he asked.

"She took care of him," the Queen explained.

"What?" he asked, staring at her in disbelief, then looking down to the sword.

"I knocked him out," Mira answered, one brow raised. "With my hands. He is unharmed."

"And Reynolds?"

"Knocked out by the monk. Beginners Mistake."

"So what now?" Rose interrupted them. They could not stand here forever. The Doctor went away for a moment.

"The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut. Pardon me, Your Majesty - you'll have to leg it out of a window," he said as he came back. He gestured through a door, the Queen walking ahead with her head held high.

"Excuse my manners, Ma'am, but I shall go first, the better to assist Her Majesty's egress," Sir Robert said, as they reached the next room.

"A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh," the Queen answered. Rose just rolled her eyes. To her it seemed almost a bit ridiculous.

"Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?" the Doctor tried to speed things up a bit. Sir Robert nodded, climbed onto the window sill and almost fell off as he was shot at by the monks. He hardly managed to get out of the way. Immediately, the Doctor - and Mira, of course – were at his side, peering out of the window. How did she manage to pass by her so fast, Rose wondered.

"I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside," the Doctor stated the obvious.

"Do they know who I am?" the Queen asked now rather furiously.

"Yeah, that's why they want ya. The wolf's lined you up for a... a biting," Rose answered.

"Now, stop this talk. There can't be an actual wolf," the Queen said. Right at this moment they could all hear the howl of a wolf, making them all spin around. In no time they were all out of the room, not one second to late, as the wolf was already battering on the door.

"What do we do?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"We... Run!" Did he sound anxious?

"Is that it?" Rose asked in disbelief. Great. They couldn't run forever, could they? They were trapped inside this house, a mad werewolf at their heels and no plan whatsoever.

"You got any silver bullets?"

"No, not on me!" she replied.

"There we are then, we run. Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog. Good for the health! Come on!" the Doctor said, taking the Queen by the hand.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

There they were again. Running. Up the stairs, the werewolf following close, and with no adequate weapon. She had left the sword behind because it wouldn't be of much use against that creature anyway, and there seemed to be no more of these monks inside the building.

Finally they left the staircase, running along a corridor, the wolf getting closer with every passing second. She could almost smell the creature, not to talk about the waves of pure, beastly anger and aggression emanating from it and hitting her. All of a sudden Captain Reynolds appeared in front of them, shooting at the wolf. She was glad to see that he had managed to get away from the monk somehow.

"I'll take this position and hold it. You keep moving, for God's sake!" he yelled. "Your Majesty - I went to look for the property, it was taken. The chest was empty."

"I have it. It's safe," the Queen assured him.

"Bullets can't stop it. That's suicide!" she yelled at him.

"They'll buy you time. Now, run!" he insisted.

"No, you..."

She didn't manage to finish the sentence, as she was dragged away by the Doctor.

"Let go of me!" she yelled almost angry and finally managed to break free from his grip as they reached the library. Everyone was hurrying to get inside, but she just stood outside, right next to the door, and stared at Reynolds. She knew she couldn't do anything for him now, it was too late.

Nothing but standing there and by that paying him all respect for this act of braveness she could. And not letting him die all alone. But that was not all that pinned her to that spot, outside the library, away from relative safety, as she soon should notice.

Reynolds held his position without hesitation and fired at the wolf. Of course it had almost no effect, and soon the creature was over him.

Tears of pain – Reynolds pain - and despair filled her eyes, blurring her vision. She could not only see him die, she also felt it. Then the wolf turned his head to her. He stared right at her, and suddenly she felt the urge to jump at him. To attack him, to tear him apart and devour him, just like he had done with Reynolds. Like he was about to do to her. With a rest of clear thinking she knew that this were just the feelings of the creature echoing in herself. But not even this knowledge could snap her out of this disastrous bond that had formed between her and the beast, leaving her frozen to the spot.

Right at this moment someone was grabbing her around the waist and pulled her inside. She struggled at first in order to free herself, but however held her was quite strong and now holding her by the shoulders, so she gave up.

As she lifted her head, she looked straight into the concerned face of the Doctor.

"You're alright?" he asked softly.

She just nodded, blinking the tears out of her eyes and drew a shaky breath to gather herself.

"Sure? Look at me, Mira."

He moved his head in front of her, so that she had to look right into his deep, dark, almost hypnotising eyes. She clung to his gaze as to a sheet anchor, pulling her back into reality.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she finally said, still a bit shaky, but at least managing a little smile.

Although it was always hard for her to witness the dead of someone, she normally could handle it quite well. This time it had just been the mixture of Reynolds sacrificing himself and the wild emotions of the werewolf that had pushed her out of balance.

"Good."

He let go of her and looked around. Meanwhile, the door had been shut and barricaded by Rose and Sir Robert.

"Wait a minute, shh, shh, wait a minute..," she heard him say. As if the wolf had just waited for them to listen, they heard his howl through the night.

"It's stopped," the Doctor observed. He climbed up a chair and pressed his ear against the wall. She herself could feel the presence of the beast right on the other side of the wall, and finally slowly moving away.

"It's gone," she said in disbelief, before they all heard the footsteps around the outside of the room. For a moment there was complete silence as everyone was trying to figure out where the wolf was heading.

"Is this the only door?" the Doctor whispered.

"Yes. No!" Sir Robert shouted. Instantly, they all run to the other door, blockading it as well. They were all listening again as the footsteps faded once more into the distance. After a moment, whilst sensing the wolf with closed eyes, she said:. "It's gone now. Really. Can't feel it any more."

Rose looked at her suspiciously. "Feel? What do you mean?"

 _Dammit._

She had forgotten for a moment that Rose still didn't know about it.

"I'm psychic. I can sense the wolf. Don't know where it's gone, but it's no way near us right now."

Rose still looked at her with an expression of discomfort on her face.

"Never mind now," she hurried to say. "The more important question is: What's stopping it?"

"Something inside this room," the Doctor said. "What is it? Why can't it get in?"

"I'll tell you what, though..," Rose said with a shaking voice, but also somehow relieved.

"What?"

"Werewolf... !"

"I know!" he replied, before they hugged each other. "You're alright?" he asked.

"I'm OK, yeah," Rose answered. The Queen was staring at them out of wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. It's all my fault. I should've sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong, I... thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?" Sir Robert suddenly raised his voice, full of guilt.

"Well, they were bald, athletic... your wife's away, I just thought you were happy," the Doctor said.

"Yeah, that was what I tried to tell you all along," she said to the Doctor. No more need in hiding herself. "I felt it. But saying it in front of all others - and the household staff - would probably have escalated it even more... Or it might have helped. Maybe I should have told it. I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's OK," the Doctor reassured her with a soft smile.

Maybe they should rely more on telepathy in the future, she thought. She had even tried that – thinking as clearly as she could what she was trying to tell him, but obviously in vain. Plus, there had hardly been time to really concentrate. She still even didn't know exactly what sort of psychic or telepath he was. She only was quite certain that it was something with telepathy. But to what extent?

"I'll tell you what though, Ma'am, I bet you're not amused now," Rose said.

 _Really?_

"Do you think this is funny?" the Queen said to her angrily.

"No, Ma'am, I'm sorry."

"What, exactly, I pray someone please - what exactly is that creature?" the Queen demanded.

"You'd call it a werewolf, but technically it's a more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform", the Doctor said, scratching his head.

"And should I trust you, Sir? You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?" the Queen said to the Doctor, and then, turning to Mira: "And you? Fighting like a man and stating to possess the sixth sense? Why should I believe you when you say this beast is not here any more?"

"Oh... right, sorry..," the Doctor said. Mira remained silent, there was nothing she could say right now anyway.

"I'll not have it. No, Sir - not you... not her... not that thing... none of it. This is not my world," the Queen finally said.

"Mistletoe... Sir Robert, did you father put that there?" the Doctor said, seemingly complete out of context, pointing at some herbs.

"I don't know, I suppose..," Sir Robert answered. Mira looked at it either. Indeed, mistletoe.

"On the other door, too... a carving wouldn't be enough... I wonder..," the Doctor murmured, and the, all of a sudden, licked at the woodwork.

 _What the hell?_

"Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe - it's been worked into the wood like a varnish! How clever was your dad? I love him!" he exclaimed. "Powerful stuff, mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins."

"And the wolf's allergic to it?" Rose asked.

"Well, it thinks it is. The monkey monk monks need a way of controlling the wolf, maybe they trained it to react against certain things," the Doctor replied.

"Nevertheless, that creature won't give up, Doctor, and we still don't possess an actual weapon," Sir Robert insisted.

"Oh, your father got all the brains, didn't he?" the Doctor frowned, making Mira grin. He was right though... The mistletoe-thing was a start at least.

"Being rude again," Rose remarked.

"Good. I meant that one," the Doctor stated, before walking over to the bookshelves. "You want weapons? We're in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world," he continued, pointing at the books and putting on some old fashioned glasses. He looked just adorable with them, Mira noticed.

"This room's the greatest arsenal we could have."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He had literally thrown the books at them, and now they were browsing through them, all talking over one another.

"Biology, zoology... there might be something on wolves in here..," Rose murmured.

"... some form of explosive..," Sir Robert said.

He suddenly jumped down the ladder he was standing on. "Look what your old dad found. Something fell to Earth," he said to Sir Robert. On the page he was showing the others was a drawing of some sort of shooting star falling down to Earth.

"A spaceship?" Rose asked.

"A shooting star," said Sir Robert. Mira was just standing next to him and looking at the page.

"In the year of our Lord, 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit." That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the Monastery," Sir Robert read out loud.

"But that's over three hundred years ago. What's it been waiting for?" Rose wondered.

"Maybe it was damaged. Injured. And needed some time," Mira said to her.

"Yeah, could be it. Maybe just a single cell survived. Adapting slowly down the generations. It survived through the humans. Host after host after host," he said.

"But why does it want the throne?" Sir Robert asked.

"That's what it wants. It said so, the... the Empire of the Wolf," Rose said.

"Imagine it... the Victorian Age accelerated... starships and missiles fuelled by coal and driven by steam... leaving history devastated in its wake..," he said grimly.

"Sir Robert!" the Queen suddenly spoke. "If I am to die here..."

"Don't say that, Your Majesty."

"I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me. But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself."

"Hardly the time to worry about your valuables," he said from the table without looking at her.

"Thank you for your opinion. But there is nothing more valuable than this," the Queen cut him off. Then she pulled something out of her bag and held it in the palm of her hand.

"Is that the Koh-I-Noor?" Rose asked, making him finally turn around to see what the Queen was holding.

"Oh, yes... the greatest diamond in the world," he said in amazement.

"Given to me as the spoils of war. Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die," the Queen told.

"Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough. Can I...?" he asked, holding out his hand. She gave the diamond to him, and he looked at it closely, the glasses down on his nose. "That is so beautiful."

"How much is that worth?" Rose asked.

"They say... the wages of the entire planet for a whole week," he answered quietly.

"Good job my mum's not here. She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing," Rose said.

"And she'd win," he said. He could hear Sir Robert saying in the background: "Where is the wolf? I don't trust this silence..." He looked at Mira, who shook her head. Good, no wolf near right now. He focused on the diamond again. "Why do you travel with it?" he asked.

"My annual pilgrimage. I'm taking it to Helier and Carew. The Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs re-cutting."

"Oh, but it's perfect," Rose said, bewildered.

"My late husband never thought so."

"Now, there's a fact - Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down. It used to be forty percent bigger than this. But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting," he said.

"He always said... the shine was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished," the Queen explained.

Suddenly, it hit him. "Unfinished... oh, yes!" and he tossed the stone back to the Queen.

"There's a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father's research - your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond - hold on, hold on", he said, whilst ruffling his hair. It was right in front of his eyes, he could clearly feel it. "All these separate things, they're not separate at all, they're connected! Oh, my head, my head! What if - this house, it's a trap for you - is that right, Ma'am?"

"Obviously."

"At least, that's what the wolf intended. But! What if there's a trap inside the trap?"

"Explain yourself, Doctor."

"What if his father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories. They dared to imagine all this was true. And they planned against it. Laying the real trap not for you... but for the wolf."

"Oh shit!" Mira suddenly yelled, followed by a shocked and disapproving look of the Queen in her direction. She had been quiet for a while now, he noticed.

"The wolf?" he asked with wide eyes.

"What? No. But.. It's not rubbish. It was never meant to be a telescope in the first place. With all these prisms. Well, not really. It is indeed a magnifier. But not for seeing something with it. It's more a collector. But not for the sunlight, it would only head up and the prisms would break in no time."

She stopped and looked at him, as if to make sure that he was still following. He nodded at her. Exactly his thoughts. She was good.

"More likely for something much weaker. Moonlight. Werewolfs are known to change with the full moon. So exposing it to magnified moonlight must have some sort of effect on it. At least I hope so. Change it back or... Oh." She stopped suddenly and looked up. "It's up there." All heads turned up. Moments later a sprinkling of plaster fell down from the ceiling. Now they could see the wolf walking over the glass dome, causing it to crack and splinter.

"Out! Out! Out!" he shouted, gesturing to the door. He was the last one in the room as the beast broke through the ceiling and smashed a desk. The Doctor slammed the door shut and followed the others down the corridor.

"Gotta get to the observatory!" he exclaimed as they were running, the wolf coming closer and closer. He could see Rose turn around and stare at the wolf, screaming. But then out of nowhere, Lady Isobel appeared and threw a bowl of liquid at the creature, causing it to bound back in agony.

"Good shot!" he told her.

"Was that mistletoe?" Mira asked her.

"Yes. We made it in the kitchen, after we saw the monks with it."

The Doctor and Rose followed the wolf down the corridor, making sure it was gone. As they returned, Sir Robert had sent his wife and her maids away for their own safety. He was looking after her as if not to sure he would ever see her again, the Doctor thought.

"Come on," he pushed them, there was no time to lose.

"The observatory's this way!" Sir Robert led the way down another bunch of corridors.

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

They had finally made it to the observatory. She didn't really get what the Doctor and Mira meant earlier on, but she hoped it would work.

"No mistletoe on these doors, your father wanted the wolf to get inside! Get inside I just need time! Is there any way of barricading this?! ", the Doctor said to Sir Robert.

"Just do your work and I'll defend it," Sir Robert answered seriously.

"If we could bind them shut with rope or something!" the Doctor seemed to ignore him.

"I said I'd find you time, sir," Sir Robert insisted.

"You know what happened to Reynolds?" Mira said, with one hand on Robert's shoulder. Then she took a step back, after she had looked deeply into his eyes, and lowered her hand. What was that now? She was a bit creepy, wasn't she, Rose thought.

"Now get inside," Sir Robert said determined. Was it all about making right what he thought he did wrong earlier on? It wasn't really his fault, Rose was convinced. The monks had surely threatened him.

"Good man," she heard the Doctor say to Sir Robert, before closing the door.

"Your Majesty, the diamond," the Doctor said to the Queen.

"What's it with the diamond? I still don't get that part..," Mira wondered. Rose shot her a spiteful glance. Not that bright after all, huh? Not that she had figured it out herself, but still.

"It's an modulator for the wavelength. The final piece to make it work," the Doctor explained quickly as he took the stone and rushed over to the telescope.

"Mira! Rose!" he called them. "Lift it! Come on!"

"Is this the right time for stargazing?" Rose asked sarcastic whilst straining on the wheel. She still didn't really know what it was all about. Did they plan to shoot the wolf with moonlight? Great plan. Not.

"Yes, it is," the Doctor just answered.

Right at this moment she could her terrible screams from outside. Sir Robert's screams. She turned to Mira. She had seen how she had freaked out earlier, and hoped that it would not happen again. She was a bit to sensitive for her taste. But the other woman did not even flinch this time.

"You said this thing doesn't work!" she made another attempt to understand it.

"Oh, come on! Mira had just explained it in the library. Didn't you listen? How did you get the idea, anyway?" he answered, but for the last part, he had turned his head to Mira. All three of them were still trying to get the angle of the telescope right.

"Was all about the moon. Beat him with his own weapons. Sort of. You gave me the final hint with talking about traps and unfinished things. Just didn't see the connections before that. I was just wondering about this weird and useless telescope," she answered.

"It doesn't work as a telescope because that's not what it is! It's a light chamber! It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. We've just got to power it up!" he finally explained to Rose.

"Moonlight!" she finally got it. She really wasn't listening that well to Mira earlier, she had to admit. "But it needs moonlight! It's made by moonlight!"

"You're seventy percent water but you can still drown. Come on!" he said to her.

Finally the telescope was aligned with the moon. They all stepped away from the device, just as the werewolf broke through the door. The Queen was standing in front of the creature, holding up a cross she was wearing around her neck.

Quite fearless and brave, Rose thought.

A beam of light shot out of the telescope, right at the floor. The Doctor hurried to throw the diamond into the beam of light. It was deflected and shot directly at the werewolf, who was about to bite the Queen. The wolf was lifted off the floor, hovering above the ground surrounded by moonlight.

Slowly it changed back into his human form.

"Make it brighter. Let me go," Rose heard him saying. The Doctor went over to the telescope and flicked a switch. The light grew even brighter and the creature finally dissolved.

"Poor soul," Mira said with compassion in her voice.

The Doctor on the other hand walked over to the Queen. She was staring at a wound on her wrist.

"Your Majesty? Did it bite you?" he asked.

"No, it's... it's a cut."

"If that thing bit you… ", he continued.

"It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart."

"Let me see," he insisted.

"It is nothing," the Queen said sharply, pulling her hand away.

 **...**

At the next morning the were all kneeling in front of the Queen.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee: Sir Doctor of TARDIS," the Queen said to the Doctor whilst touching him on each shoulder with a ceremonial sword.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub the: Dame Rose of the Powell Estate," she repeated it with Rose herself.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub the: Dame Mira of Terrania," she said at last to Mira.

Terrania. Does that even exist?

She had just made it up, didn't she?

"You may stand," the Queen finally said.

"Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving a message from the great beyond; I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now Ma'am, even from beyond the grave," the Doctor said to her after they all had thanked her.

"Indeed. Then you may think on this, also: that I am not amused."

Rose couldn't help but smile. Yes. Finally. She grinned at the Doctor who just groaned.

"Not remotely amused," the Queen continued. Rose tried to stop smiling.

"And henceforth... I banish you."

Now all three of them looked stunned.

"I'm sorry?" the Doctor finally said.

"I rewarded you, Sir Doctor. And now you are exiled from this empire, never to return. I don't know what you are, the three of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars - and magic - and think it fun. But your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death and I will not allow it! You will leave this shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you managed to stray so far from all that is good. And how much longer you will survive this... terrible life."

She stepped away from them, distaste on her face. "Now leave my world. And never return."

Now it was Mira who seemingly had trouble to stay serious.

 **...**

As they were out of the estate and on a farmer's cart at their way back to the TARDIS, Rose asked her: "What's so funny now?"

"Nothing, really. It's just, I have been banished from so many places over the years due to things I've done. But never from a country on my own homeworld until now. Well, once I've been banished from Earth itself, but that wasn't my fault at all. And technically this isn't really my homeworld, but still..," she chuckled. Rose just looked at her, obviously not understanding.

Yeah, Got it. You've been around a lot and did a lot of things, she thought, slightly annoyed.

"I am from Earth," she explained. "But from another Earth in another universe."

 _All right. She's really stuck..._

Suddenly Rose remembered her being psychic, and she tried to think about something else. Was she a telepath?

They continued their short travel in silence, and as they hopped of the cart, the Doctor said: "You know, the funny thing is, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood! It's historical record haemophiliac. It used to be called the Royal Disease! But it's always been a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it her dad didn't have it - it came from nowhere!"

"What, and you're saying that's a wolf bite?" Rose asked.

"Well, maybe Haemophilia is just a Victorian euphemism."

"For werewolf?" Rose wondered.

"Could be!"

"So, Queen Victoria's a werewolf now?" Mira fell in.

"Could be! And, her children had the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip," the Doctor said enthusiastic.

"So, the Royal Family are werewolves?" Rose couldn't believe it.

"Well… maybe not yet. I mean, a single wolf cell could take... a hundred years to mature... might be ready by… oooh… early 21st century...?" the Doctor said.

"Nah! That's just ridiculous! Mind you… Princess Anne...!" Rose joked.

"I'll say no more," the Doctor said.

"And if you think about it... they're very private. They plan everything in advance. They - they could schedule themselves around the moon - we'd never know! ", Rose said as they made it into the TARDIS.

"They like hunting! They love blood sports!"

The Doctor and Mira started to laugh.

"Oh my God, they're werewolves!" Rose finally exclaimed as the TARDIS slowly vanished from the surface of the planet, leaving just the faint sound of her engines for a few more seconds.

* * *

 _So, that was the last part of Tooth and Claw. Hope you enjoyed it. :-) And, again, thanks to all of you who read, liked or followed my story. :-)_


	7. Chapter 7 - Revelations

**Chapter VII**

 _Doctor's POV_

After Rose and Mira had gone to their rooms to get some sleep, he had stayed in the console room. Tending to his ship and spending some time at looking at the stars. He still could always get lost in the beauty of the universe.

Finally he went for the library, thinking about humans and their silly need for sleep. He was all the more surprised by finding Mira sitting in in of the arm-chairs, reading The Mountains of Madness from H. P. Lovecraft.

She looked up as he entered, smiling her Mona-Lisa smile at him.

"Trouble sleeping?" he asked as he sat in a chair opposite to hers.

"No", she answered, laying the book on the table between them. "I have slept, had been almost six hours or so..."

"That's not much for humans," he replied. "Well, at least not for humans from this universe."

She just looked at him, making him wonder once more what was going on in her head.

"You don't sleep that much either, do you?" she broke the silence.

"Nah, have slept recently, must be enough for a while now. Lovecraft then? Met him once. Wasn't half as weird as you would expect from his writings."

"Haven't read it in a while," she answered. "Obviously one more parallelism between these two universes. Just as if they had been the same until a certain point in time..."

"Who are you?" he couldn't help himself. He loved a good mystery, he really did. But this was different. As if it was staring him right in the face, and he was constantly failing to see it. He just _had_ to know. Now.

She looked startled for a moment, before returning to her usual, inscrutable self, albeit slightly more serious. "I told you. I am Mira Rhodan. Human. Major Rhodan, for you were right about the mili..."

"No", he interrupted her quietly, now all airiness gone from his voice. "I want to know _who_ you are."

He studied her whilst waiting for her to say something. Her hair was falling loose in long, shiny waves. He hadn't realised until now how long it was. She was dressed in black again, but not in her uniform-jacket this time, instead she wore a black cardigan. She sat with her legs folded on the armchair - barefooted, he noticed. Just as if she did exactly belong in here. She would have looked like that no matter what, it suddenly stroke him. She looked so oddly distinct, in an out-of-place sense of meaning, that she would have fitted in anywhere, without anyone wondering about it.

"You already know, don't you?" she finally replied, her voice soft and gentle.

"Have you met me before?" he asked back, a bit startled. It was not impossible that she had met him before, but... "I might have looked different. Really different. Like another man, literally," he added.

"No. I would remember, trust me. I have never met anyone of your kind, as I said before." She brushed some hair out of her face. "But you really are a bit blind to the obvious sometimes, aren't you?"

Was she teasing him now?

"Mira, don't."

"Or what?" she said, with a sudden hint of seriousness in her voice. Apart from that she actually seemed to be a bit nervous, for he could see that her hands were slightly shaking now.

"Well, I guess it's your turn this time," she added a moment later, before he could think about an answer.

"What!?" All right, this was going to become really bizarre. Not that humans had never staggered him for a moment before, but this was absolutely going into the wrong direction.

"Now you tell me what you see. Because I think you also see a lot more than meets the eye when you look at someone, Timelord."

"I..."

"Just one thing: No mind reading."

"What? Why?" he asked, a bit taken aback. He hadn't even planned on that, had he?

 _Sure about that?_

All right, maybe it had crossed his mind for a second.

"Because that's cheating," she said, one brow arched, with a lop-sided smile.

"How is that cheating?"

"Because _I_ wasn't in _your_ head."

"Fine. But you asked for it!" he repeated her words from earlier on.

She didn't reply, just looked him straight in the eyes.

All right. Somehow he had brought this upon himself, he thought. So he started to break down the barriers he had build around some of his senses. He was used to doing this because all the input they provided him with could make things a bit boring, just by knowing too much. It was way more exciting if he didn't see everything coming all the time.

Even though, he still couldn't see much when it came to her timeline. But there was _something_ , now that he focused on her, all his senses open. Something subtle...

She was still holding his gaze, and just, all of a sudden, he could see it, as it was forming right in front of his mind's eye.

"I... How...?" he stumbled, for now it was on him to struggle for words. "But that's not possible. Just not possible." There was a hint of everlastingness about her, but it was not as if she was some sort of... fixed point. Not like Jack. And yet she somehow seemed to be a constant in time.

She raised an eyebrow, as if she was inviting him to speak it out. He was still glancing into her eyes. _Old_ eyes. Almost ancient.

"You are...somehow _frozen_ in time," he finally said. "But on the other hand, not a fixed point in time. That's..."

"A very unique way of putting it," she said quietly. "Actually I have never heard it like that before."

"You can't be immortal. That's just not possible."

"You've seen it, and yet you still can't believe it?" She smiled sadly.

He stood up, walked a few steps back and turned to her again, running his hand through his hair. "Can't be. You're not a..."

"..fixed point, whatever that means, although I _think_ I know. Got it. Frozen puts it quite right, though. I have been like I am now for a very long time. And I will be till the day I die. Basically, I could stay like that forever. But I still _can_ die, just not of old age."

"How?" he asked flatly.

Humans had always searched for a way to trick death, and for this time itself. But it just wasn't meant to be. Everything was changing, and changing meant also death and decay. Making room for something new. How could she exist so outside of all this? And yet, at the same time, she didn't, in all her human vulnerability.

He looked down at the strange pendant she was wearing.

She pulled it out from under her shirt. "Superior technology," she answered. "Not human technology, obviously. Emits a higher dimensional radiation, regenerating and repairing cells, neutralizing toxins, viruses, bacteria and so on. So if you ever want to see me dead, you should rather go for a knife than for poison."

"Why would I want that?" he asked, still a bit in shock about what he had just discovered.

"Don't know? Maybe because I can be really annoying sometimes? You wouldn't be the first, actually."

"Where does it come from?"

"That really is a long story," she sighed. "Safe to say: It's from Entities, probably as old as the universe itself. Fitted into their plans, I guess. But don't ask me about their motivations. I don't think anyone being actually a part of that or any other universe will be able to fully comprehend them."

"And you are the only one being...?" he still found it hard to say it.

"Immortal? There are a view more." She suddenly looked sad. Now he knew why this sadness had seemed so strangely familiar to him, earlier at dinner at the Torchwood Estate.. It was the sadness of constant loss. Of not being able to really share your life with someone.

"Doesn't your lot kill each other about these things?" he wondered, as he was reaching out with his hand, and after a slight nod from her, finally crouching in front of her and touching it. It felt warm from her skin, and there were gentle, pulsating waves floating through his hand. So soft he could hardly feel them at all. Besides that, it was seamless. Just small, egg-shaped and silver, made of a material he had never seen before.

He had already touched it earlier on, he had to admit. Just couldn't resist. Back then the waves had been a lot stronger. Maybe due to the fact that she was injured. But then he hadn't known what it was, and so touching it then didn't count, did it?

"It's calibrated, at least this one. There is a certain frequency, specific to ones cells, unique like a fingerprint. Won't work on someone else. At least not in a good way."

He pulled back his hand as if he had burned it, and got back up on his feet.

"Don't worry," she chuckled. "Just touching it won't do you any harm."

He sat down in his chair again, staring at her indecisively, brows furrowed. That was wrong, in so many ways, he knew it, from a strictly logical point of view. On the other hand, it didn't actually _feel_ that wrong. _She_ didn't feel wrong.

"So, tell me then, how old are you really?" he finally asked.

"Something between thirteen-hundred and fifteen-hundred. I'm afraid I lost track a bit."

Despite everything he had heard so far, this really hit him. It was not so much the fact that she was around for longer than he himself, for he still was a Time Lord. His people were naturally long-lived, so being nine hundred six-years was considered pretty normal. But she was human. They're not supposed to live much longer than maybe hundred fifty-years, at most. And considering that, someone living through fifteen-hundred years of most likely more than turbulent human history, having literally an indefinite amount of time at her hands, without the constant thread of sickness, weakness and dying, was incredible. (Well, she obviously could still die by accident, but that could happen to anyone at any time and was normally not a thing humans thought about too much)

Everything that had brought humanity – or any other species - that far had been taken from her. The urge to make a difference, to leave something behind, to do things before it was too late. Before they were too old or too weak.

 _What had that done to her?_

He didn't envy her. Not for a single second. He didn't know yet if it had all been her choice, or if she had been forced into it, but the price clearly was way to high.

"Say something. Or at least, stop staring at me like that," she said in a voice that sounded a bit thin. Was that fear?

"I... Like what am I staring?"

"Like.. You're not sure what to make of it? I don't know. That's the problem. I'm not that bad at reading facial expressions, but I always relied more on empathy. When I can't do that, I tend to be a bit lost. And right now, I just can't stand that," she admitted bluntly and so honest, that he couldn't help but feeling captivated by it.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

 _Oh holy shit._

She couldn't remember when she had to deal with what she was like that the last time. Probably never at all in this way. Where she came from, everybody knew about her and the rest of the people with cell-activators. Basically ever since _It_ had scattered twenty-five of them throughout the galaxy centuries ago. These twenty-five and the three – special – ones of her father, Atlan and herself were all there were.

There just had been no need to explain it. And whenever they had met someone who didn't know about it, it either wasn't a topic or they just had accepted it.

And now she was sitting here and waiting for him to say something, as if awaiting judgement. She clutched her hands in an attempt to disguise that they were shaking. She had always started to shiver quite badly when she was agitated in any way. Be it nervous, angry, or whatever. And she had always hated it, because that was a thing she could hardly hide from someone else. Of course she had managed to get herself more under control over the years and with all the things she had gone through. But after all, she was still human and in situations like that her nerves still got the better of her.

And besides that, she doubted that she could hide anything from him at all. He most likely tended to overlook things right in front of him, because he seemed to _to much_ at once. And with that much information you must miss things every now and then. She knew it a bit from herself. Whilst sorting out all that information, some possibly important things happened to slip through every now and then, only to be stored away for later.

She almost was a bit frightened of him right now. After everything she had seen, his ship, the way he stated that he could see time.. She had just started to grasp the full implications of that. Let alone the TARDIS, flying through time as it was her everyday business, and built based on a principle she would probably never be able to comprehend, was so way above anything she had encountered so far.

Of course, they once had had a time machine of their own. But this had been absolutely primitive compared to the TARDIS. They had even met a species who was able to calculate up to the seventh dimension just with their brains, so much for intelligence.

But not everything all at once, as it seemed to be the case here. How much power did he hold in his hands? How did he deal with it? Of course, what she had seen of him so far wasn't that scary at all, he had made a rather likeable impression. But at the same time she doubted that she had seen more than at most five percent of him now.

It finally was Rose who rescued her from the uncertainty she felt with him just staring at her. Or prolonged it even more by interrupting any further conversation about this topic, depending on the point of view.

"Morning," the young girl said, the smile slowly fading from her face. She wasn't that happy to see Mira sitting here with the Doctor, that much was obvious.

Another topic she knew she had to deal with, sooner or later. Her first evaluation of Rose hadn't changed, but now she knew about a view more of her personality traits. She had clearly felt the jealousy that came from Rose several times whilst they had been at the Torchwood Estate. It had been a bit over the top, but on the other hand, everyone had their bad sides. Mira of all people knew that, she herself not being an exception at all.

So, Rose had a few jealousy-issues, could have been worse, couldn't it?

"Morning!" the Doctor echoed with a smile, but she could clearly see that the recent topic was still on his mind. "Morning", she fell in.

"What were ya talking about?" Rose asked, still a bit sleepy, whilst letting herself fall onto the couch.

"Books," Mira said almost instantly, even before she herself knew what she was saying, pointing at the book on the table. She knew she couldn't avoid this topic forever, but..

"Oh," Rose replied and yawned, before eyeing Mira suspiciously for a few moments. "You said you're psychic. What did you mean? You're not some sort of mind-reader?" she asked with a nervous smile.

"Um. No. No mind reading. I'm an empath", Mira answered. Well, that topic had to come up sooner or later. She just wished she had an idea what humans in this universe knew about these things.

"What is that? I mean, empathy is something that everyone has, more or less, isn't it?"

"Yes. But it's a bit different."

"It is a bit like mind reading," the Doctor fell in, clearly in his element now. "You're just not reading actual thoughts, but emotions. The principle is pretty much the same. Instead of hearing thoughts in your head, you feel the emotions. I might almost say that it is more than telepathy. Well, I mean, it is clearly more honest, although less accurate. Thinking about something else is easier than feeling something else. Probably even more difficult to deal with. Well, as long as you're not part of a psychic species. I wonder how you manage not to get crazy amongst a species as emotional as humans are. And even more so if the strength of your abilities is rather on the upper end of the scale. Meaning, for a human. Overall it is still rather low le..."

"Thanks," Mira cut him off with a fake smile.

 _Nice try, but not really helpful._

"What he meant to say was: When someone near me gets angry, I feel angry myself. I can even say from which direction it is coming. It's a bit like a wave. Works even if I don't actually see the the person. Just like the werewolf in the other room." She looked at Rose, who was far from being reassured. "It's nothing to worry about. I really can't look inside your head. And I give it my best to ignore it most of the times, because it's just none of my business."

"You... You did know about that?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"Well... Actually..," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "Yes. Hard to overlook when you scan someone..."

"So, and when did you plan to tell me? I mean, as long as we travel together now..," Rose asked, now a bit huffy.

"Rose," Mira said with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I should have told you. I just forgot it, sort of. See, where I come from, it's pretty much known. Just as one other thing..."

She decided to go for complete honesty know. It would come out sooner or later anyway, and as she was kindly allowed to stay here in the TARDIS (At least she hoped so, the Doctor hadn't really said anything to the latest revelations), Rose had a right to know. Plus, the young girl seemed quite able to handle a lot of things, like time-travelling aliens, to begin with. So no need in lying just to protect her.

"What?" Rose asked.

Mira caught the look the Doctor gave her, but she didn't care. Rose was nineteen, as he had told her, and for this clearly no longer a child. This was between her and Rose, and as for that it was non of his business what she was going to tell her or not.

"Well... I'm old. Much older than I look..."

Rose shook her head, clearly not understanding where this was heading.

"Something over thirteen-hundred years. Where I come from, there are about twenty or so people who are immortal. Sort of. I happen to be one of them."

Rose said nothing. For a long moment all three of them were quiet, the Doctor rubbing one of his eyes, whilst Mira was just looking at Rose. The girl went through all kinds of feelings, from disbelief over repulsion and embarrassment to finally something like curiosity.

"But... you're human, aren't you?"

"I am as human as you are. It's just all about this thing," Mira answered, putting a hand on her pendant. "Without it I won't make it for longer than about sixty hours at most."

 _Yeah, go on, expose your weaknesses_.

"So, that is basically all there is to know," Mira continued. "My 'secrets' and my weak spot. And I really plan to stay only as long as I find a way back or the both of you don't want me here any more. But I really hope we can get along with each other somehow"

That was all she could say to Rose without admitting that she knew exactly what Rose's feelings were, and to embarrass her even further. She wanted to tell her that she was no threat to her at all, that she would never get between her and the Doctor. Even that it wasn't so much different from the crush she herself had on Atlan from the moment she met him. She hadn't been much older than Rose at that time. An alien from Arkon, incredibly old and experienced and, well, good looking was clearly an understatement.

But that would really have crossed the line right now. And it would have been patronising, at least a bit.

 _Hey, look, I've been through something like that myself, and I can only encourage it, just use your opportunities, I know, because I've lived for so long now, blablabla._

Really not.

Besides, that was a thing Mira herself just couldn't stand herself, and so she didn't want to behave like that to anyone else. Even so she might see her younger self a little bit in Rose. After all, she wasn't her mother nor her best friend.

"Oh, why wouldn't we?" the Doctor said. "Of course you can stay..."

A whole bunch of rocks fell from Mira's heart. Now matter how he took it, it wasn't that bad that he would drop her on the nearest planet.

"Yeah. I guess so..," Rose finally said.

"Thank you. Really." Mira said. "And I guess I better make myself useful. What about breakfast? You do have some sort of kitchen or food storage?" She hadn't seen where they had gotten the chips from.

"Yeah, out of the library, left, down the corridor, than right, third corridor left again, right, second door on the left," he answered.

"Um, good. If you don't find me there later, be so kind and search for me. Bad sense of direction, I have," she said and outright fled from the library. But at least this topic was done now, she hoped.

* * *

 _alwaytherereading: I'm glad you like her :-) I had her in my head for a while now, and as soon as i discovered Dr. Who I wanted to "throw" her at him. ;-)_ _I'm not sure if Perry Rhodan is translated into English, but I think it is. It's from Germany, only published as books and there has been a new issue every week since the 60s, so it's quite long running._ _(There has been a movie once, but it is really not good in my opinion and doesn't do it justice in any way)_


	8. Chapter 8 - School Reunion Pt 1

**Chapter VIII**

 _Mira's POV_

She sat at the rear wall of the classroom on a small chair, a clipboard holding a few white sheets on her knees. The pen in her right hand was tapping against it in some random rhythm, as she waited for the lesson to begin – and for the Doctor to show up.

It has been a few days now since Rose had received a call from someone called Mickey. Something strange was going on here, he had told, and so the Doctor decided to investigate. They got themselves jobs at school – the Doctor as a teacher, obviously, Rose in the kitchen and she herself as some sort of official to evaluate this facility. He had even handed her the strange ID-thing that he had shown the soldiers of the Queen. It was blank, but there was something about it... Psychic Paper he called it, and as she had shown it to the Headmaster, she had suddenly gotten a hint what he was seeing on it.

Well, she was fine with that job, although she could have done some teaching herself. At least she had the skills, she had taught at the University of Terrania occasionally, but she'd rather not had herself unleashed on those children. Besides, she was still a bit anxious about accidentally messing up history and everything by telling them the wrong things.

So instead she was just walking around, sticking her nose into things and annoying people. A thing she was quite good at.

Finally the Doctor showed up, wearing his usual brown suit and carrying a bag which he know put on the table.

"Good morning, class. Are we sitting comfortably?", he grinned. "Oh and, by the way, the woman sitting behind you is Miss Rhodan. Doing some evaluation. Just don't let her disturb you."

She cringed slightly as he called her by that name. For a moment she had forgotten that it didn't mean anything to the people in this universe. In hers it would have been impossible to go undercover by her real name, after everything not only she, but most of all her father had accomplished.

Her father. Suddenly she had to think about him, making her heart feeling as if it was frozen. She missed him already, she really did. They were so close...

She immediately pushed that thought aside. If she allowed herself to think too much about it now, she was afraid it would completely overwhelm her.

As a few heads turned around, she smiled at them as there hadn't been anything, whilst the Doctor was writing the word 'Physics' on the whiteboard. She had quite perfected her skills in repression over the ages. At least she was able to really repress things for quite a while.

"So. Physics."

He put the pen back on the desk.

"Physics. Eh? Physics. Phyyyyyyyysics. Physics! Physics. Physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics."

She raised an eyebrow and looked at him sceptically, as she felt the bemusement of the class.

"I hope one of you is getting all this down. Um, okay - let's see what you know. Two identical strips of nylon are charged with static electricity and hung from a string so they can swing freely. What would happen if they were brought near each other?"

They clearly weren't in for answering anything, for only one of the children raised his arm.

"Yes - uh, what's your name?"

"Milo.", the boy answered.

"Milo! Off you go!" the Doctor encouraged him.

"They'd repel each other because they have the same charge.", Milo answered.

Well, hadn't been that hard, had it?

"Correctamundo! A word I have never used before and hopefully never will again. Question two - I coil up a thin piece of micro wire and place it in a glass of water. Then I turn on the electricity and measure to see if the water's temperature is affected. My question is this; how do I measure the electrical power going into the coil?"

She had to bite her lip not to laugh out loud at his word-creation. She caught his glance and tried – quite unsuccessfully – to hide a big grin.

"I hope the outcome of your evaluation is going to be good, Miss Rhodan?" he said to her.

"Well, that depends.", she replied, still grinning.

"On what?"

"Solely on you, Mr. Smith."

"Well, anyway.", he replied, also hiding a smile. "Who want's to answer the question?"

She shook her head slightly and wrote something on the sheets, just to take her eyes off him. She didn't know what it was about him that gave her a little peace of mind. Just let her forget her whole, messed up situation for a moment. Besides that, everything seemed to be good again between the two of them, despite that he now knew everything.

 _Or maybe just because of that._

They hadn't really had time to talk any further after Rose went in that morning, so she still had no idea what was going on in his head about that topic.

Milo's hand shot up again.

"Someone else.", the Doctor said after looking around. No response from the other pupils at all.

"Nope... ? Okay, Milo - go for it."

"Measure the current and PDs in an amp-meter and a voltmeter."

The child was good, she had to give him that. The Doctor seemed to be impressed as well, just as the other pupils.

"Two to Milo! Right then, Milo, tell me this; true or false - the greater the dampening of the system, the quicker it loses energy to its surroundings."

"False.", the boy said.

"What is a non-coding DNA?"

"DNA that doesn't code for a protein."

"Three-hundred-and-twenty-nine-thousand-nine-hundred-and-fifteen."

She was calculating herself, and even though she knew how to calculate large numbers in her head, Milo's answer came as if he had known it even before the question was asked.

"Three-hundred-and-twenty-nine-thousand-nine-hundred-and-fifteen."

She looked around in the classroom, now clearly getting the mixed feelings of impression and disturbance from his classmates.

"How do you travel faster than light?"

"By opening a quantum tunnel with an FTL factor of 36.7 recurring."

She had no idea about what exactly he meant with quantum tunnel. Might be something about the old science of quantum physics, but the Doctor's reaction – dropping his chin - told her, that it must have been right. Obviously the principles of travelling faster than light differed from her own universe. Anyway, Milo shouldn't know that.

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

She was standing in the canteen, smashing food on plates. As the Doctor finally walked by, she gave him a filthy look. And also to Mira, who was walking behind him, looking a bit disgusted at the food.

How did the other woman run around anyway? Her hair was braided and tucked around her head like Princess Leia from Star Wars had worn it. Thanks to Mickey, she knew the episodes quite good. And she was wearing black – again.

As they finally sat on a table, she walked over to them.

"Two days.", she said. Why in hell was it her who had to do the kitchen job? Well, maybe she was really not into teaching, and a bit too young for that, but there were other jobs, weren't there? Evaluation, to start with, she thought, shooting an angry look at Mira. Well, if this woman knew anyway what her feelings were, she could just show them.

"Sorry, could you just - there's a bit of gravy.", the Doctor said to her. Did he really enjoy his role? She wiped the table.

"No, no - just there.", he said again, pointing at it with his fork.

"Two days, we've been here.", she repeated herself.

"Blame your boyfriend, he's the one who put us onto this. And he was right. Boy in class this morning - got a knowledge way beyond planet Earth."

"Mickey's your boyfriend?" Mira suddenly asked, somehow surprised.

"Yeah, well, that's... You eating those chips?" she avoided answering the question. What was it to her, anyway?

"Yeah, they're a bit... different.", the Doctor said.

"I think they're gorgeous. Wish I had school dinners like this.", she said, eating one of them. Her look fell on Mira's plate, she had hardly touched her chips.

"You're not in for chips?"

"That's no food for children in school.", she complained. "I'm really used to a lot of weird food, I've been with the fleet for quite a while now, and the food there is famous for its lack of taste, but that's just awful, even sad. If there had ever been anything of nutritional value in there, like vitamins or so, now it is clearly fried to death." Despite her complaining, she was still eating it, at least some of it, Rose noticed.

"Well, can't be that bad, if you're eating it...", she said slightly annoyed.

"I'm hungry.", Mira replied, before shuddering in disgust. "But not _that_ hungry, actually."

"It's very well behaved, this place.", the Doctor interrupted them.

"Mm.", Rose agreed, munching on chips.

"I thought there'd be happy-slapping hoodies. Happy-slapping hoodies with ASBOs. Happy-slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ring-tones."

He looked at her as if he wanted to impress her.

"Yeah? Yeah? Oh, yeah! Don't tell me I don't fit in."

"Happy-slapping?" Mira asked bewildered.

"Beating others and filming it with mobiles.", Rose explained. God, where did she came from?

Mira looked at her in utter disbelieve. "Oh for Gods sake. I'm too old for this, I really am. This is so not my generation.", she sighed, rubbing her face with both hands.

"Oh, believe me, I know exactly how that feels.", the Doctor added sympathetically, before Rose could reply anything. Great. At least the two of them got along quite well. Not that them both being into all these science-talk thing wouldn't have been enough.

"How old are you anyway?" Mira asked.

"Nine-hundred-six", he said.

"Oh, you're in really good shape for that age.", she said mockingly, after giving him a surprised look.

"Oh, you think so? Really?" he replied in the same tone, correcting his tie.

Before Rose could say anything to that, one of the dinner-ladies showed up.

"You are not permitted to leave your station during a sitting.", she said to her icily.

"I was just talking to them.", she replied.

"Hello!" the Doctor greeted the dinner-lady.

"She doesn't like the chips.", Rose said, nodding at Mira.

"The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance. Now, get back to work.", the dinner-lady replied, apparently affronted.

"Maybe you make sure that you take care of your kitchen as well as you take care of your staff. My evaluation isn't finished yet.", Mira said, not one ounce less icy than the dinner-lady, who just walked off after shooting her an unfriendly glance.

Rose looked at Mira in surprise. Well, help sometimes came from unexpected sources... On the other hand, she was very well capable of helping herself.

"See? This is me.", she said to the Doctor. "The dinner-lady."

"I'll have the crumble.", he said.

"I'm so gonna kill you.", she said to him before returning to her station.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He grinned at Rose as she went back to her work. She would manage doing that job for a few days, he was sure. He also hadn't missed what was going on between her and Mira, although he preferred not to think about it to much. He just couldn't stand that sort of fighting. On the other hand, they weren't really fighting that much, were they? They just needed a bit more time to get to know each other.

"So, Mickey's her boyfriend?" he heard Mira say.

"Yeah, why?" he asked and looked at her out of wide eyes.

"Oh just... He's fine with her travelling with you and him staying back on Earth? With the two of you being..."

"Hm?"

"Friends?" she finished the sentence. "I mean, first: It's none of my concern, but I'm just too curios sometimes. Second: I basically have no problems with open relationships. As long as everybody who's involved knows about it."

"What!?" he stared at her. She just looked around in the canteen.

"Just saying.", she shrugged.

What was she up to now? Rose and he were close, but still, she was together with Mickey. Mickey the idiot. Yes, true, they had danced together in his former regeneration, but that had been under somehow special circumstances. And she had saved his life, after all. And he had sacrificed himself for her. Well, at least a part of him. But that was it. No relationship, at least not in that human sense of meaning. Was she getting anything from Rose about her feelings? Things he might have missed? Happened sometimes, even to him, he hated to admit.

"Rose and I are friends. Just friends. Close friends, but nevertheless: Friends.", he finally said.

"If you say so.", she replied innocently. "I was just wondering, that's all."

"So..", he decided to finally change the topic. "What do you make out if this all?" he said quietly.

"I'm not sure yet. Besides that Milos knowledge seems way to advanced for this time." She looked at him and shrugged. "And there is something weird about some of the staff. Teachers, the dinner-ladies and even Mr. Finch himself."

"What?"

"Don't know. They _seem_ to be normal enough. It's just, when I look at them, it's like one of these flip-images. For a moment it's like there's something else, before it flips back to normal."

"What? They change right before your eyes? Into what?" he asked startled.

"No, not visibly changing. More in a psychic way. They feel human, then there is this short.. flip or twitch, before everything is back to normal. It's just weird."

"Well, we're here exactly for this.", he said, smiling widely. At this moment a conversation on one of the other tables caught his attention.

"Melissa. You'll be joining my class for the next period. Milo's failed me... so it's time we moved you up to the top class.", Mr. Wagner, one of the other teachers, said to a girl.

"Kenny? Not eating the chips?" he continued to another child, a boy who was a bit chubby.

"I'm not allowed.", the boy answered.

"Luke - extra class. Now.", Mr. Wagner had immediately turned his attention to the next child, before leaving with several children following in his trail.

"And here is Mr. Finch.", Mira said, inconspicuously turning her eyes up to where he stood on a balcony.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

They were all sitting in the Staff Room. Mr. Finch wanted to introduce someone to them. She was sitting in a corner of the room, just staring around, holding her clipboard. The Doctor was sitting on a table, eating biscuits and talking to one of his co-workers.

"But yesterday, I had a twelve-year-old girl give me the exact height of the Walls of Troy... in cubits.", he seemed equally astonished as she and the Doctor had been earlier on about Milo.

"And, it's ever since the new headmaster arrived?" the Doctor asked.

"Finch arrived three months ago. Next day, half the staff got flu. Finch replaced them with that lot.", the teacher replied and nodded over to a group of other teachers. "Except for the teacher you replaced, and that was just plain weird, her winning the lottery like that.", he continued to the Doctor.

"How's that weird?"

"She never played! Said the ticket was posted through her door at midnight."

"Hmm! The world is very strange.", the Doctor said, still eating biscuits.

 _Indeed. Especially the world of time travel._

Just as Mira thought about this, Mr. Finch arrived, accompanied by a woman.

"Excuse me, colleagues - a moment of your time.", he gathered their attention.

They all turned to him, as Mira's look fell on the Doctor. It was as if his whole face just lit up at the sight of this woman. He was smiling all over it, even wider then he normally did. Did he know her?

"May I introduce Miss Sarah Jane Smith. Miss Smith is a journalist, who's writing a profile about me for the Sunday Times.", Mr. Finch said.

Sarah Jane smiled at all of them. The Doctor was still captivated by her sight.

"I thought it might be useful for her to get 'a view from the trenches', so to speak. Don't spare my blushes.", Mr. Finch continued.

Now Sarah Jane finally seemed to notice the wide smile the Doctor was still giving her, making her approach him.

"Hello.", she said to him.

"Oh, I should think so!" he said cheerfully.

Who was she? The love of his youth?

"And, you are... ?" Sarah Jane said. Strangely she didn't seem to recognise him at all.

"Hm? Uh, Smith. John Smith."

"John Smith? I used to have a friend who sometimes went by that name.", she wondered.

"Well, it's a very common name!" the Doctor said, somehow lost for words.

 _Lost for words? He?_

"He was a very uncommon man.", she said as she hold out her hand. "Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you! Yes! Very nice! More than nice – brilliant!" he replied, shaking her hand.

"Um... so, um, have you worked here long?" she wanted to know.

"No! Um, it's only my second day."

"Oh, you're new, then? So, what do you think of the school? I mean, this new curriculum?" she asked further, with him just staring and smiling at her. "So many children getting ill - doesn't that strike you as odd?"

"You don't sound like someone just doing a profile.", he finally said.

"Well, no harm in a little investigation while I'm here.", she answered conspiratorial.

"No. Good for you.", the Doctor said, as she walked away to the other teachers. "Good for you. Oh, good for you, Sarah Jane Smith."

Then, suddenly, the bell was ringing and everyone hurried to get out of the staff room. Mira was following the Doctor.

"What was that? You know her?" she asked as she finally caught up with him.

"Yeah, she's a friend. Haven't met her for a long time. A very long time."

"But she didn't seem to remember you!"

"Well, I might have changed.", he said to her whilst watching her out of huge eyes. Oh, _that_ look again. She never had the slightest hint of an idea what was going on behind these dark eyes when he looked at her like that.

Before she could say anything more to him, they had reached his class-room and he shut the door behind him, with her still standing outside.

She just shook her had and took off. Still enough places to investigate left.

…

Night had fallen as they all were at the school again. This time accompanied by Mickey. A nice guy, she thought, if just not really the brightest star in the sky. But he was honest in a way that he mostly said straight away what was on his mind, and didn't try to hide it. A thing Mira valued quite high. And yes, there was more drama forming around Rose, as she had almost expected it. Poor Mickey, that was basically everything she had to say to all this.

"Oh, it's weird seeing school at night. It just feels wrong.", Rose said, as they were walking down a corridor. The school appeared to be empty, but something was odd. There was a presence she hadn't felt before during the day. Clearly not human.

"When I was a kid, I used to think all the teachers slept in school.", Rose continued.

"Well, someone is clearly sleeping here. I just doubt it's the teachers.", Mira said quietly.

"What?" the Doctor spun around to her.

"Here is someone. Aliens, I guess. I'm not sure if their sleeping, though. Somewhere above us...", she explained. "Whoever it is wasn't here during the day."

"We're not alone here?" Mickey asked her, truly scared. "And how d'ya know someone is here?"

"I'm psychic."

"Cool! You mean, like mind-reading?" he asked her.

"No, not quite..."

"Mickey!" Rose snapped at him. "Not now!"

Mira just crossed her arms, shook her head slightly with her eyes down to the floor and then looked up to the Doctor. She had decided to keep herself out of this and she would stick to that, no matter what.

"So, fine, we have to be a bit more careful then.", he said and scratched his head. "All right, team. Oh, I hate people who say 'team'. Um... 'gang'. Um... 'comrades'. Uh... anyway, Rose, go to the kitchen and get a sample of that oil. Mira, the new staff are all Maths teachers, take Mickey with you and check out the Maths department. I'm gonna look in Finch's office. Be back here in ten minutes."

"Mickey, you have a watch?" she asked him and he nodded in response. "Good. Oh, and by the way, who put you in charge?" she asked the Doctor. Not that it wasn't sensible what he had suggested, but still. She'd always had her own head.

"I did. Any problems with that, _Major_?" he replied, a strange tone in his voice.

"Basically: No. I'm just not that good at taking orders. At least not if they don't seem to make any sense to me. Just so you now."

He looked at her for a long moment. "Good. So, off you go.", he said, turned on his heels and took off up the stairs.

"You gonna be all right?" she heard Rose say, as she turned around to Mickey. The girl was fiddling with the sleeve of her sweater. Suddenly it hit her just _how_ young she was. Maybe she really should be a bit more lenient towards her. Even though she didn't approve of her behaviour towards Mickey.

"Me? Please. Infiltration and investigation? I'm an expert at this. And I have her. Psychic Powers. Well, that's really cool.", he said, and just strode away in a random direction, leaving Mira and Rose staring at each other in wonder. After a few steps he turned around and strode back.

"Where's the Maths department?"

"Just follow me.", Mira said and walked off in the opposite direction.

…

They finally managed to reach the maths department. On their way they had heard weird sounds – like screeches and flaps – and she had quite a hard time to prevent Mickey from freaking out.

"It's only ten minutes.", she tried to reassure him once more. "Just look at your watch and keep track of the time. I take care of these sounds. It's nowhere near us right now, trust me."

"Yeah. I'm fine, by the way. Just being careful ", he said, and you didn't needed to be an empath to be not convinced by that, she thought.

"I never thought anything else.", she replied. "Just try to stay behind me and don't forget the time. Just a quick check in the department, we also need two minutes or so to get back."

She went into one of the class-rooms, making sure Mickey was still following her. "You take the cupboards over there, I take the desk.", she said and immediately turned to the teachers desk. She just had opened the first unlocked drawer, as she heard something fell to the floor - a lot of rather small, solid items – and Mickey screaming in utter terror. She turned on the spot, rushed over to him, falling over some chairs and right against a table whilst doing so. It was still rather dark in there, only Mickey stood in a ray of light coming from the window.

"Mickey, shut it!" she yelled at him as she finally had reached him, but still in a whispery voice, whilst carefully rubbing her left ribs, which had made rather painful contact with the table. She was glad to see that he wasn't in immediate danger, he just scared himself. He held one of the little packages that had fell out of the cupboard right onto his head, and was turning it into the light.

 _Are these..._

Before she could do anything, he screamed again and threw the package away as if it was toxic.

"Mickey!" He just looked as if he was starting to scream once more any second. Great. Before that could happen, she slapped him. Not hard, just enough to hopefully snap him out of his panic. And it worked.

"Sorry, but we're not alone here!" she said as he finally looked at her.

"S...Sorry.", he stumbled. "I... I just..."

"Yeah, got scared. Never mind. Happens."

At that very moment the Doctor appeared in the door-frame, followed by... Sarah Jane. Surprise, surprise. Oh, and Rose. Of course.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He had also heard the strange noises whilst he was on his way to Finch's office. He decided to follow the source of them. Mira had mentioned that there was someone else here, so why not have a look?

As he turned around a corner, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. There she was. Sarah Jane Smith. Also following the noises and now heading directly to the room where he had landed the TARDIS. He followed her silently. He waited outside the room with the TARDIS, where she just had walked into. As she came out again, walking backwards, he just stood there. Oh, it had been a really long, long time. Finally, she turned around.

"Hello, Sarah Jane.", he said quietly.

"It's you. Oh... Doctor...", she whispered, as if she still couldn't believe that it was actually him.

Then a smile was slowly forming at her face, as she was walking towards him. "Oh, my God, it's you, it's... it's... you've regenerated."

"Half a dozen times since we last met.", he said.

"You look... incredible."

"So do you."

"I got old.", she said, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Old? To him she still somehow looked as she did at the day he brought her back to Earth. As he would always see her, every time he looked at her. Just as Sarah Jane, the woman who was a companion to him on so many adventures. No matter how she might change over time. More wrinkles, different hair, all these things humans fussed about so much and were just skin-deep.

"What're you doing here?" she asked him.

"Well... UFO sightings, school gets record results - I couldn't resist. What about you?"

"Same.", she said with a mischievous smile and they both burst out into laughter. But just a few moments later, she stopped, and as she was talking again, she sounded close to tears.

"I thought you'd died. I waited for you and you didn't come back, and I thought you must've died."

"I lived. Everyone else died.", he said and suddenly felt sad. Meeting someone again he had known back then brought it all back somehow.

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone died, Sarah.", he said in a voice heavy with pain.

Sarah just shook her head in disbelieve. "I can't believe it's you.", she whispered.

Right at this moment they both heard a terrible scream, snapping them out of their talking.

"Okay! Now I can!" she said to him and they both started to run, searching for the source of the scream.

It was Mickey, of course, he had clearly heard that. On their way he was almost running directly into Rose – quite literally so, because she was just coming from a converging corridor.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, out of breath. "Who's that?"

"Rose, Sarah Jane! Sarah Jane, Rose.", he said in an urgent tone. No time for this right now.

"Hi. Nice to meet you.", Sarah said to Rose. "You can tell you're getting older - your assistants are getting younger.", she added, obviously talking to him right now.

"I'm not his assistant.", Rose snapped at her, before he had any chance to say something. Instead he was scratching his ear.

 _Here we go again..._

"No? I get you, tiger.", Sarah said.

They finally reached the class-room, all of them standing in the door-frame, staring at Mickey.

"Sorry! Sorry, it was only me. You told me to investigate, so I - We started looking through some of these cupboards and all of these fell out of them.", Mickey exclaimed.

The Doctor bended down and picked up a few of the packages Mickey was standing in. Rats. Packaged rats.

"Oh, my God, they're rats. Dozens of rats. Vacuum packed rats.", Rose said.

"Oh please, not you too. Don't freak out too.", Mira plead, looking at Rose, who shot her an icy glance in return.

"Rats. And you decided to scream.", the Doctor said to Mickey.

"It took me by surprise!"

"Like a little girl?"

"It was dark! I was covered in rats!" Mickey replied indignantly.

"Nine, maybe ten years old. I'm seeing pigtails, frilly skirt.", the Doctor just couldn't help himself. Mickey the idiot. They were in a school full of aliens, and he screamed like a little girl just whilest opening a cupboard.

"Hello, can we focus? Does anyone notice anything strange about this? Rats in school?" Rose said somehow angry.

"Well, obviously they use them in Biology lessons. They dissect them. Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet. How old are you?" Sarah asked her.

The Doctor looked to Mira, who just raised a brow at him and then lowerd her head to eye the rats. All right, no help from that direction, he thought.

"Excuse me, no one dissects rats in school anymore. They haven't done that for years. Where are you from, the dark ages?" Rose replied.

"Anyway, moving on.", he said quickly. He just caught the dirty look Sarah and Rose exchanged, as he was about to turn to the door. "Everything started when Mr Finch arrived. We should go and check his office.", he explained, throwing the rat he held back to Mickey, who dropped it in disgust. Then was walking out the door, with the others following him.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but who exactly are you?" Rose asked as they were walking.

"Sarah Jane Smith. I used to travel with the Doctor.", Sarah replied. "Alone, a lot of times.", she added, nodding to Mira. "The official, huh?"

"Yeah, still just evaluating.", Mira said casually. "Never mind me."

"Oh! Well, he's never mentioned you.", Rose spat at Sarah.

"Oh, I must've done! Sarah Jane! Mention her all the time.", the Doctor hurried to say.

"Hold on... sorry... never.", Rose said, after pretending to think for a few moments.

"What, not even once? He didn't mention me once?" Sarah asked almost hurt, as Rose just walked off. Sarah immediately followed her, leaving the Doctor with Mickey and Mira.

Mickey put a hand on his shoulder. "Ho ho! Mate! The missus and the ex. Welcome to every man's worst nightmare.", he said, grinned and then followed Rose and Sarah.

The Doctor sighed in relieve and ruffled his hair with both hands. Then his glance fell at Mira, who was still standing in front of him. Arms crossed and looking at him, the corners of her mouth twitching suspiciously.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. Really.", she said, before following Mickey.

They all went up the stairs and he was opening the door to the headmasters office with his sonic. "Maybe those rats were food.", he said.

"They are somewhere behind this door.", Mira almost interrupted him.

"Let them.", he replied.

"Food for what?" Rose asked.

Right at this moment he opened the door. The strange noises were indeed coming from here, he had heard it before Mira had told him so. He looked up to the ceiling. "Rose... you know you used to think all the teachers slept in the school... ? Well... they do."

There they were. Gigantic bats hanging from the ceiling, their wings folded around them, obviously sleeping right now.

"No way!" Mickey yelled, turning on his heel and running away, quickly followed by Sarah and Rose.

Only Mira was still standing next to him, looking at the creatures. "Who are they?" she whispered almost inaudible. He just shrugged and cautiously closed the door.

"One's woken up!" she whispered urgently, just as they both heard its screech.

"Time to get out here anyway.", he replied as he took her hand and pulled her with him.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

They all gathered outside the front doors.

"I am not going back in there. No way.", Mickey said, out of breath from running.

"Those were teachers!" Rose almost yelled.

"Those were just intelligent alien lifeforms, Mickey, no need for panic.", Mira tried to comfort him.

"When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies and a nurse. Thirteen. Thirteen big bat people. Come on.", the Doctor said. He was walking towards the doors again.

"Come on- you've got to be kidding!" Mickey tried to stop him.

"Yeah, maybe that's really not such a good idea.", Mira fell in, holding her left side. "They outnumber us." She really had hit the tables quite hard, for her ribs were hurting rather badly now that she was a bit out of breath from running. But they didn't seemed to be broken, she thought.

"I need the TARDIS. I've got to analyse that oil from the kitchen.", he insisted. "You're alright?" he suddenly added, looking intensely at her.

"Yeah, sure.", she answered, dropping her arm.

"I might be able to help you, there. I've got something to show you!" Sarah said to him with a smile before grabbing his arm and pulling him to the car-park.

A few minutes later they were all peering into the boot of Sarah Jane's car. The Doctor pulled away the blanket which was hiding something in there. A weird looking, dog-shaped robot came to light.

"K9! Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, Mira Rhodan - allow me to introduce K9 - well, K9 Mark III to be precise.", he said delighted. Rose and Mickey were just glancing at each other as if not entirely sure what to make of this.

"What sort of Robot is that?" Mira asked. "AI?"

"Oh, you could clearly say so...", the Doctor answered.

"Why does he look so... disco?" Rose wondered.

"Oi! Listen, in the year five-thousand, this was cutting edge!" the Doctor said, a bit offended. "What's happened to him?" he turned to Sarah Jane.

"Oh, one day, he just... nothing!"

"Well, didn't you try and get him repaired?"

Mira shot a quick glance to Mickey and Rose. They really didn't seem to get the point in all this. If this thing was only half as advanced as she thought, giving that it was from the year five-thousand, then they had a positronic brain at their hands which would exceed the processing power of the most advanced computers in the year 2006. Well, at least she assumed it was based on the same principles as the positronics were in her universe. Didn't really matter anyway, as long as it _did_ work. Which wasn't the case right now, sadly.

"Well, it's not like getting parts for a mini-metro! Beside, the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone!"

"Ooh, what's the nasty lady done to you? Eh?" the Doctor said, patting the head of the robot-dog. Now even Mira looked mildly irritated at him. This thing might have an AI, but it was just that, after all: Artificial.

"Look, no offence but could you two just stop petting for a minute? Never mind the tin dog, we're busy!" Rose intervened. The Doctor looked at her, then closed the door, still grinning.

* * *

 _Wow, longest chapter for now and not even halfway through that episode, I think. I hope it's not too confusing, for there's a lot of dialog and interaction going on in it. :-)_

 _As always, thanks to everyone who read that far, or even followed or favourited it. :-) (And, of course, reviews are still welcome ;-) )_


	9. Chapter 9 - School Reunion Pt 2

**Chapter IX**

 _Mira's POV_

They had brought K9 into a chip-shop, where the Doctor and Sarah Jane were now trying to repair it. She was sitting at a table, a bit distant from them, watching Mickey and Rose at the counter. Sarah had clearly given the impression that she wanted a word alone with the Doctor, all too understandable after she hadn't seen him for a while.

So here they where. The Doctor and Sarah, Mickey was teasing Rose, and she just sat there, feeling a bit redundant and excluded. She couldn't really help the Doctor with K9, and although Mickey didn't have anything against her, she didn't want to interfere in his conversation with Rose now.

They all had each other, she suddenly realised. No matter what exactly was going on between them, all the filth that had been exchanged between Rose and Sarah Jane, or Rose's behaviour towards Mickey – this was their home. Their life. It was here and now, whilst her own life was incredibly far away. And maybe even lost forever. Everything she was, everything she had done, everyone she had known – it didn't matter in this place. None of it had ever been _here_. She could tell these people around her anything. No way to prove any of it.

She took a last look around her, seeing everybody being engaged with each other and stood up. She needed some air, desperately. And maybe the sight of the stars above her head.

No one looked at her as she left the shop, and once outside, the cool night-air hit her. For a moment she just stood with closed eyes, taking a deep breath, ignoring the sting in her ribs, before she looked around. So, that was the year 2005 in this universe. In hers, in 1971 after the first landing on the moon, everything had changed. They hadn't just set foot on the moon, but also brought back alien technology, giving history a whole new and unexpected turn. So in 2005 there had been space travel and everything, whilst the Earth here still seemed to be asleep in the pre-space-age.

She didn't even know who had been the first men on the moon here, and when it had happened. And frankly, she didn't wanted to know. It would probably just destroy the little hint of hope she still had left.

She took a few steps away from the doors and the windows of the shop, finally looking up. It was a bit cloudy, but she could see a few stars and the bright full moon.

Once more she tried to _listen_ , tried to get a hint if she would make it back again or not. She tried to clear her thoughts completely, most of all of every wishful thinking, but there was just nothing.

 _That's it then?_

No feeling about the future, no place to start looking for a way back and not a clue if there was something more behind it this time. Nothing.

She was as lost as anyone could be.

 _Alone._

She slowly felt despair and fear creeping up on her like a black shadow, spreading out from a place in her mind that she had so carefully locked up for almost all her life now.

 _Stop it._

What had happened had almost destroyed her back then, and she had wondered ever since how she had managed to survive it. She just knew she did, somehow. Scarred, but not dead. On the other hand, the situation now might be similar, but it wasn't the same.

 _No. It's worse._

 _Stop it!_

She was so lost in thoughts, she didn't notice Mr. Finch standing on the building opposite to the shop. It was Mickey who finally pulled her out of her thoughts, as he opened the door to the shop. "Mira, come in! They fixed the dog!"

She turned around and went back into the chip-shop. She arrived just in time to hear K9 speak. "Master!" The robotic dog lifted his head and the little antennas that served as ears rotated.

"He recognizes me!" the Doctor exclaimed ecstatically and looked around. Mira tried to smile at him, but it was merely a poor attempt than a real smile. For a second it seemed that his smile would falter as he looked at her face, but then the dog continued to speak, and his attention was drawn to the robot again.

"Affirmative"

"Rose, give us the oil," the Doctor said.

She handed it to him, and he was just about to dip his finger in it, as Rose quickly warned him. "I wouldn't touch it, though, that dinner lady got all scalded."

"I'm no dinner lady," he said, and then turned to Rose. "And I don't often say that."

Now he was dipping his finger in the oil, and although Mira was a bit afraid that it would harm him, nothing happened. He smeared it on a sensor that K9 had extruded and then they all waited for him to analyse it.

"Here we go. Come on, boy. Here we go," the Doctor encouraged the dog.

"Oil. Ex- ex- ex- extract ana- an - analysing..."

Didn't sound as if fully repaired, Mira thought.

"Listen to it, man! That's a voice!" Mickey was now also joking about the voice of the robot.

"Careful! That's my dog!" Sarah Jane immediately told him.

"Confirmation of analysis - substance is Krillitane Oil," K9 had finished the analysis.

"They're Krillitanes," the Doctor said. Was he shocked? He clearly seemed a bit shocked to her.

"Is that bad?" Rose wanted to know.

"Very. Think of how bad things could possibly be, and add another suitcase full of bad," he answered.

"And what are the Krillitanes? The gigantic bats we saw?" Mira asked.

"Most likely. They're a composite race. Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from all sorts of countries - people you've invaded or have been invaded by, you've got bits- bits of Viking, bits of France, bits of whatever - the Krillitanes are the same. An amalgam of the races they've conquered. But they take physical aspects as well. They cherry-pick the best bits from the people they destroy. That's why I didn't recognize them. The last time I saw Krillitanes, they looked just like us except they had really long necks."

"What are they doing here?" Rose wondered.

"It's the children. They're doing something to the children," he said as if just realising it himself, sounding horrified.

 **...**

She'd helped Sarah and Mickey to lift K9 back into Sarah's car. Rose and the Doctor where still in the chip-shop.

"So, what's the deal with the tin dog?" Mickey asked.

"The Doctor likes travelling with an entourage. Sometimes they're humans, sometimes they're aliens, and sometimes... they're tin dogs," Sarah answered him.

One more piece to the picture of who this man really was for Mira.

"What about you? Where do you fit in the picture?" Sarah continued talking to Mickey.

"Me? I'm their Man in Havana. I'm the technical support, I'm... ", Mickey answered, his voice slowly changing from enthusiasm to realisation. "Oh, my God. I'm the tin dog," he added and sat down, apparently a bit shocked by his discovery. Sarah just smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

Right at this moment Rose and the Doctor were leaving the shop. She couldn't help but overhear their conversation. Or, more likely, Rose confronting the Doctor. It was really loud enough.

"How many of us have there been, travelling with you?" she demanded to know.

"Does it matter?" the Doctor replied, clearly not wanting to talk about this right now.

"Yeah, it does, if I'm just the latest in a long line," she said, now as if she was about starting to cry.

"As opposed to what?" the Doctor said, now turning around to face her.

"Well, what's about Mira, to start with? Why did you ask her to come along?"

He looked at her in surprise. "Why? Because she has nowhere else to go. She's stuck here all alone. She doesn't have anyone. That's why. Should I just send her away? Away to what?"

 _Ouch. Thanks._

Well, that was a quite accurate description of her situation, but hearing it like that was harder than she would have expected it to be. She didn't want to be "kept" out of pity. And even if so, at least she didn't want to hear it. Seemed as if Mickey wasn't the only dog here.

"I thought you and me were... but I obviously got it wrong. I've been to the year five billion, right, but this... now this is really seeing the future. You just leave us behind. Is that what you're going to do to me?" Rose said with a shaky voice.

"No. Not to you," the Doctor said as if he didn't need to think twice about it.

"But Sarah Jane... you were that close to her once, and now... you never even mention her. Why not?" Rose insisted.

"I don't age. I regenerate. But humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone who you..," the Doctor said, now sounding close to tears himself. He suddenly stopped as if he had said to much already.

He actually was in love with Rose, Mira suddenly realised. But because of what he had just said - something she knew all to well herself - this could never happen. Poor Rose. She had found herself in his position way to often. And she even had once allowed herself to be happy with someone, at least for a while. Only to hold his hand at his death-bed as he died of old age. After that she had sworn to herself to never go through this ever again.

"What, Doctor?" Rose asked.

"You can spend the rest of your life with me. But I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords."

There were still a lot of things left she didn't understand. What did he mean by regenerating? And why in three devils name didn't he go for someone of his own people? Weren't they as long lived as he was? If so, why not? She shook her head. She wouldn't get the answer to all these questions tonight, she knew it.

An all too familiar screech made not only hers, but also the heads of the others turn. One of the Krillitanes was heading for Sarah. Rose, the Doctor and Sarah managed to duck, but apparently it had never been the motivation of the Krillitane to really hit them. It had been almost impossible to miss them, even so they ducked.

"But it didn't even touch her, it just flew off! What did it do that for?" Rose spoke out what Mira was thinking.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

They were heading for the school again the next morning. They hadn't slept that much the last night, just a bit at Sarah's place. Well, technically, he hadn't slept at all, instead he had spent the night talking with Sarah Jane about old times. Rose had been with Mickey in the guest-room, Mira had stayed on the couch in the living-room. At least she had pretended to be asleep, but he somehow doubted that she really did. He was worrying about her, just a little bit, but nevertheless, he did. She almost seemed to be a bit absent since they went to the chip-shop yesterday, and her face was not as open as it had been the last days. These were just tiny changes, and most people would have missed them, but not he.

"All right," he said as they walked over the school-yard. "Rose and Sarah, you go to the maths room. Crack open those computers, I need to see the hardware inside. Here, you might need this."

He handed the Screwdriver over to Sarah, who was walking at his right side. He noticed Rose holding out her hand as well, causing him to sigh inwardly. No matter what he did with the two of them around, it would be wrong.

"Mickey - surveillance. I want you outside," he said to Mickey.

"Mira, surveillance as well. I want you in the school. Try to keep anyone away from the maths room." He looked at her. "If you would be so kind to take an order."

"Sure," she nodded and strode of, eventually vanishing into the building. Not a hint of a smile, as he had hoped to provoke with his last sentence.

"Just stand outside?" he heard Mickey complain.

"Here, take these - you can keep K9 company," Sarah said to him, chucking her car-keys at him. Good, one problem less. "Don't forget to leave the window open a crack," he told him whilst heading straight for the main entrance.

"But he's metal!" Mickey yelled after them.

"I didn't mean for him," he replied.

"What're you gonna do?" Rose demanded to know.

"It's time I had a word with Mr Finch."

 **…**

He finally met Mr. Finch at the swimming pool. They were both standing at opposite sides of the water, eyeing each other suspiciously.

"Who are you?" he asked quietly, his hands in the pockets of his coat.

"My name is Brother Lassa. And you?"

"The Doctor. Since when did Krillitanes have wings?"

"It's been our form for nearly ten generations, now. Our ancestors invaded Bessan. The people there had some rather lovely wings. They made a million widows in one day, just imagine."

"And now you're shaped human."

"A personal favourite, that's all."

"And the others?"

"My brothers remain bat form. What you see is a simple morphic illusion. Scratch the surface and the true Krillitane lies beneath." That was an explanation why Mira hadn't figured out that they were aliens. Obviously it was not just an optical illusion.

"And what of the Time Lords? I always thought of you as such a pompous race. Ancient, dusty senators, so frightened of change and... chaos. And of course - they're all but extinct. Only you. The last," Brother Lassa continued, walking slowly towards him.

"This plan of yours - what is it?" he asked instead of going into what Brother Lassa had just said, now also walking towards him.

"You don't know," Lassa said, pleasantly surprised somehow satisfied.

"That's why I'm asking."

Now they were facing each other. It wasn't sure yet who would back down, if one of them would at all. The Doctor was just sure that it wouldn't be him.

"Well, show me how clever you are. Work it out," Brother Lassa challenged him.

"If I don't like it... then it will stop," he outright ignored the challenge.

"Fascinating. Your people were peaceful to the point of indolence. You seem to be something new. Would you declare war on us, Doctor?" Brother Lassa said, after giving him a close look out of narrow eyes.

"I'm so old, now. I used to have so much mercy," he answered, his voice now dangerously quiet. He was staring at Lassa. "You get one warning. That was it," he continued as Lassa had finally broken the look. Then he turned around to walk away.

"Maybe I have something for you," Lassa said. The Doctor stopped and turned around. "Or... someone?" Lassa continued.

"Don't," the Doctor warned him.

"But it is just a sign of my good will. To convince you." Lassa winked with his index-finger, and Mira stumbled in his field of vision from behind some lockers, obviously being pushed by someone.

Her hands were bound to her back, but aside from that, she appeared to be unharmed.

"Mira!" he yelled. "What have you done to her?" he demanded to know from Brother Lassa, now all calmness gone from his voice.

"Nothing. We could have eaten her, although she's almost a bit skinny for that. But we didn't. Take it as a sign of our good will, as I just said," Lassa answered, and turned around to walk away. "The next time we meet, you will join with me. I promise you," he said over his shoulder, before leaving the room.

The Doctor stared after him for a few seconds, all his anger burning in his eyes.

"Sorry," he suddenly heard Mira say. "They are really strong."

"You're alright?" he asked whilst rushing over to her, his facial expression changing from anger to concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. They just grabbed me as soon as I walked through the doors."

He walked around her and saw that her hands were bound with a rope, secured by some simple knots. He undid them, feeling the anger building inside him again as he looked at the red markings that the rope had left on her wrists. He turned her around on her shoulders, eyeing her strictly.

"I'm fine, really," she said once more.

He couldn't help himself, he simply had to hug her now. Just to let almost instantly go of her as she gasped in pain.

"What?"

Instead of answering she was just holding her left side and leaning heavy against him. All colouring from her face was gone as she obviously struggled to fight the pain.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, although he couldn't imagine how he could have done it. Well, in some way it was him. But she must have been injured before that.

"No. It's nothing," she finally managed to say between clenched teeth. "I just fell against a table last night. It's not yet decided what's harder, ribs or table, I'm afraid."

"You broke your ribs?" he asked disconcerted, still supporting her by holding her right arm.

"No, don't think so," she said as she freed herself from his grip. "Just a really ugly bruise."

"Just a bruise? You don't look like 'just a bruise'", he said, reaching out with his hand to examine her side. Unfortunately he hadn't had his Sonic now. Mira just shoved his hand aside before he could touch her.

"Mira, please."

"Don't. Bruised or not, it still hurts. Besides, I have broken my ribs before, I know how that feels. Not like it's feeling now. Apart from that, there isn't anything we can do about it now, can we?"

"Fine," he said after they had stared at each other for a few moments. He didn't believe her, but she was right. Nothing he could do right now. How long had she been at the swimming pool anyway? Did she overhear the whole conversation with Lassa?

"Let's see if Rose and Sarah have accomplished anything with the computers," he finally said.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She was walking behind the Doctor, still holding her side, at least as long as he wasn't looking. Her ribs were at least cracked most likely, just not completely broken. Yet. Fine, she lied to him about that, but not about having them broken before. She knew what she could endure and what not by now.

Aside from that she was still thinking about what she had heard at the swimming pool. Was he really the last one of his people?

As they reached the maths room she could hear Rose and Sarah Jane laughing their heads of.

"How is it going?" the Doctor asked, as he walked in. Mira followed, and as soon as Rose and Sarah saw him, they both turned to him, just to break into laughter again after staring at him for a moment.

"What? Listen, I need to find out what's programmed inside these," he said, completely oblivious to what's going on.

They still were laughing at him, now almost hysterically, Rose pointing this strange device at him, that he had used to repair the robot-dog and to open the door to the headmaster's office.

"What? Stop it!" he demanded.

"Well, at least their good with each other now I guess," Mira whispered to him, smiling softly. The only thing she earned for that was a confused glance from him.

"Whatever," he finally said, walking past Rose and Sarah, straight to some of the computers.

"Screwdriver!" he said, holding his hand behind him. Rose gave the device to him, then she went for the door. A group of pupils was about to walk in.

"No, no - this classroom's out of bounds. You've all gotta go to the South Hall. Off you go, South Hall!" Mira heard her say, before she closed the door.

"What's that?" she asked the Doctor who had now cables hanging all around his neck, probing some sort of case. Maybe a computer-core or a switch for some sort of data-network, she thought.

"It's deadlock-sealed, that's what it is," he gave her not exactly the answer she was hoping for. "I can't shift it."

"I thought the Sonic Screwdriver could open anything!" Sarah Jane said.

"Anything except a deadlock seal. There's gotta be something inside here. What're they teaching those kids?"

Suddenly all the screens in the room came alive.

"I guess that's what these positronics were doing," Mira said, subconsciously using the term from her universe.

"Some sort of code..," the Doctor said, staring at the screens. "No... no, they can't be... ", he continued after he had looked at the big screen on the wall a few moments longer.

"What?" Mira asked quietly.

"The Skasis Paradigm. They're trying to crack the Skasis Paradigm," he said, whilst looking at her in way that made her shiver. What was he talking about?

"The Skasis what?" Sarah asked. Fine, no one besides the Doctor seemed to know.

"The... God-maker. The universal theory. Crack that equation and you've got control of the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control," he explained.

"Holy shit," Mira whispered. This she did understand. Well, not really in all its mathematical beauty, but at least the implications of it.

"What, and the kids are like a giant computer?" Rose asked.

"Yes," the Doctor said simply. "And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil! That oil from the kitchens, it works as a- as a... conducting agent. Makes the kids cleverer," he continued after he had walked around the class room to work it out.

"But that oil's on the chips. I've been eating them," Rose said.

Yeah. She had eaten them too. Not much, but still. Yuck. Mira pulled a face at the memory of the taste of these chips.

"What's fifty-nine times thirty-five?" the Doctor asked Rose.

"Two thousand and sixty five," she answered without hesitation. "Oh my God... "

"But why use children? Can't they use adults? Why humans at all?" Mira asked him.

"No, it's gotta be children. The God-maker needs imagination to crack it. Human imagination is rather good, at least as long as you're still children. They're not just using the children's brains to break the code... they're using their souls."

Suddenly Mr. Finch walked into the room. "Let the lesson begin."

 _No, Brother Lassa. Not Finch._

"Think of it, Doctor - with the Paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it," he continued as he was slowly approaching the Doctor.

"Oh yeah? The whole of creation with the face of Mr Finch. Call me old fashioned, but I like things as they are," the Doctor replied.

"You act like such a radical, and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order. Think of the changes that could be made if this power was used for good."

"What, by someone like you?" the Doctor said, and Mira could hear the scepticism in his voice.

"No... someone like you," Brother Lassa said to him.

The Doctor remained silent, just staring at the human-shaped Krillitane.

"The Paradigm gives us power, but you could give us wisdom. Become a God. At my side. Imagine what you could do - think of the civilizations you could save. Perganon, Assinta... your own people, Doctor. Standing tall. The Time Lords... reborn," Lassa continued, with the Doctor still saying nothing.

 _Not good._

It was tempting, she had to admit that. Wasn't this exactly what she had always dreamed of? Saving everything that was gone for good, let everything be as it was, until all eternity?

"Doctor, don't let him get into your head," she urged him.

"And you could be with him throughout eternity. Young... fresh... never wither, never age... never die. Their lives are so fleeting. So many goodbyes. How lonely you must be, Doctor. Join us," Lassa was now speaking to her, Rose and Sarah Jane.

"I could save everyone... ", she heard the Doctor say, and her head spun around to him. She would probably never be able to forget the expression she saw in his eyes. A mixture of temptation, sadness and tiredness.

"Yes," Lassa tried to convince him.

"I could stop the war... "

She saw the smile on Lassa's face.

"No," she said almost desperately. "You know that this can never be. The Universe around us changes. Everything changes as it moves forward. It's just us who remain. But we don't have the right to preserve everything as we see fit. Even if seeing it change hurts. But this pain defines us as much as love and happiness." She caught his glance. "Everything has its time. Everything has to end. Whether it's a world, an empire or a relationship. That's the only reason for us to treasure things as long as they last. The only reason why we can see their real value. _Because_ they are fragile and finite." She was still looking right at him, searching for something – anything in his face that would tell her what was going on in his head right now. Finally he was gritting his teeth as he picked up one of the chairs and hurled it into the great screen at the wall.

"Out!" he yelled as the screen splintered into countless shards.

* * *

 _Thanks to the unknown reviewer of the last chapter :-)_


	10. Chapter 10 - School Reunion Pt 3

**Chapter X**

 _Doctor's POV_

They were all following him – Sarah Jane, Rose and Mira – as he ran out of the maths room and down the stairs. Just like in old days when he had travelled with more than one person at a time.

At the bottom of the stairs he bumped into Mickey and one of the children. The one that wasn't allowed to eat chips, he remembered.

"What is going on?" Mickey wanted to know. But before he had the chance to answer, the Krillitanes – now in their bat-form – were closing in. Their wings weren't the best option to move through the narrow corridors, but they were still fast enough.

"This way!" he yelled and turned on his heals. He shoved the whole bunch of people – no less than five they were now, not including himself – in his desired direction. His eyes fell on Mira, but she seemed to keep up rather well with all this running.

They reached the canteen and he immediately tried the doors on the opposite wall, but they were locked. Not time to deal with them he realised, his hand halfway in his pocket to reach the Sonic, as the Krillitanes swept into the room, followed by Brother Lassa.

"Are they my teachers?", he heard Kenny ask.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Leave the Doctor alive. As for the others... you can feast.", Lassa commanded his brothers.

As if they had waited for that, the Krillitanes began to swoop down on them. They all were ducking for cover. Kenny was still standing somehow exposed in the middle of the room, as one of the Krillitanes chose to charge on him.

The Doctor was about to throw a chair at the bat, just as Mira threw herself over Kenny and brought them both down to the floor. The Krillitane missed them by a few inches.

Only to be hit by a red beam of light.

"K9!", Sarah Jane exclaimed.

"Suggest you engage running mode, mistress.", the robotic dog answered, still shooting at the Krillitanes.

"Come on!", the Doctor yelled at his companions. Meanwhile, Mira had gotten back to her feet, pulling Kenny with her. As he met her glance he could see tears of pain in her eyes and she was even paler than usually. She pushed Kenny in the direction of the door before following him herself.

"K9, hold them back!", he ordered the K9 and finally left the room himself.

"Affirmative, master. Maximum defence mode!", was the last thing he heard from him.

He shoved them through the corridors and into the physics lab. As he was sure that everybody – except the Krillitanes – was inside he looked the door with his Sonic. He took a quick look at them all. They seemed to be unharmed, except for Mira. She must have fallen on her left side.

He finally gave her a quick scan with the Sonic, ignoring the defensive glance she shot him.

Well, even if her ribs had been just bruised or partially fractured before, they now were definitely broken. These humans. So fragile and yet still always throwing themselves right into trouble. As if simply ignoring the fact that they only had one heart, rather fragile bones and above all, just this one life would make them somehow invincible. Well, of course not all humans were that way, but it definitely was a trait that spread throughout their species.  
He suddenly thought of Rose and the Heart of the TARDIS. She had almost sacrificed herself for him...

He was still staring at Mira. Like everyone else was doing now, with rather concerned expressions on their faces, he noticed. "How are you doing? Can you still walk?", he asked her, his hand on her right shoulder. She was leaning against the wall and visibly in pain.

"Don't worry. I'm not about to die any time soon. Besides, it's my ribs, not my feet", she said and tried a reassuring smile.

Before he could answer anything, the first Krillitane slammed against the door, causing it to shake in its frame alarmingly.

"Oh!" He almost jumped as it stroke him. He took a step back from Mira and looked at all of his companions.

"It's the oil. Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil! That's it! They've changed the physiology so often, even their own oil is toxic to them. How much was there in the kitchens?"

"Barrels of it.", Rose answered.

Now suddenly everybody jumped as the bangs on the door got louder. The Krillitanes were now ripping through it with their claws as if it was made out of cardboard.

"Okay, we need to get to the kitchens. Mickey...", he said, staring at the door out of wide eyes.

"What now, hold the coats?", Mickey replied.

"Get all the children unplugged and out of the school. Now then, bats, bats, bats, how do we fight bats?", he said, ruffling his hair and walking around. "Anyone? No idea?"

Right then his eyes fell on Kenny, who was just walking over to the fire-alarm, smashing in the glass with his elbow and pressing down the button.

"Oh, now that's brilliant!", he said admiringly.

A few moments later the door was open again and they all could see the Krillitanes in agony. They rushed by them, Mickey heading for the class-rooms, the others right behind him.

"K9!", he called out as the dog emerged from a doorway.

"Master!"

"Come on, boy! Good boy." No time to lose, he thought.

Not much later they finally reached the kitchen. He instantly walked over to the barrels, trying the Sonic on one. Then on another. And a third one. "They've been deadlock sealed! All of them! Finch must've done that - I can't open them." Would have been a nice plan, he thought. Well, it seems that he better had to come up with a new one...

"The vats would not withstand a direct hit from my laser. But my batteries are failing.", he heard K9 saying. He considered it for a few moments.

"Right. Everyone out the back door. K9, stay with me.", he said.

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

They were all running towards the back door. All except for K9 and the Doctor. Great. He wasn't about to blew himself up again, was he?

 _Came to think about it, he hasn't tried it in this Regeneration, has he?_

She looked at Mira. She was clearly injured, although Rose had no idea when this had happened.

"Run!", she yelled at them all and waved them out of the back door. Kenny, Mira and Sarah. Where was Mickey?

Now that they were all out, she hurried to the school yard. And there he was. Mickey, rushing all the children out of the school. She suddenly smiled. And felt a bit proud of him.

"What's he still doing in there? Should we not help him?", she suddenly heard a voice next to her. She turned her head and saw Mira. The other woman didn't look threatening at all now, she suddenly realised. Not as if older than thousand years and immortal. Her hair was all messed up and she was looking a bit tired, just as they all did.

"I guess he has a plan.", she answered.

Mira just shook her head. "Is he always like that?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so.", Rose smiled at her, although she really was worrying about the Doctor now.

"Am I always like what?", she suddenly heard an all to familiar voice from behind. There he was, with Sarah Jane. She just was about to hug him, as a loud bang made her jump. She immediately turned around to face the school.

There had been a rather large explosion that had even cause the windows to burst. A cloud of heavy smoke was emerging from them, filling the air. But there seemed to be no actual fire.

For a moment, there was collective silence before all the children started to applause and cheer. Of course, Rose thought, it was the dream of every child, wasn't it? Blew up your own school.

A few feet away Kenny was standing, smiling all over his face. "Yes!", he yelled. A girl turned around to face him: "Did you have something to do with it?"

"Yeah, I did.", Kenny said proudly.

"Oh my God. Kenny blew up the school! It was Kenny!", she shouted, making all the other children chanting: "Kenny! Kenny! Kenny!"

She caught Mickeys glance. He was smiling at her all over his face.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She was standing next to the Doctor and Sarah, as Rose rushed over to Mickey to give him a big hug.

 _A lot of hugging here..._

She herself didn't feel like hugging at all right now. The breathtaking pain in her side had ceased to a manageable throbbing. Manageable as long as she didn't move too much. Or better speaking: Didn't move at all.

Sarah stood at the other side of the Doctor. She didn't need to look at her to feel how sad she was. K9 was missing, probably destroyed by the explosion.

"I'm sorry.", the Doctor said to Sarah.

"It's all right. He was just a... daft metal dog. Fine, really.", Sarah replied sadly. As she turned her head to them, the Doctor had put his arm around Sarah, who was crying now. It might have been just a tin-dog, Mira thought, but it was the only thing Sarah had left from her travels with the Doctor. Besides her memories.

She had just walked a few steps to give them some privacy as she felt a hand around her right upper arm. "Oi! Where are you going now? Can't take my eyes off you for even a second, can I?"

She looked at him and couldn't help herself but feeling caught red-handed. "I just wanted to give the two of you a little bit of privacy."

He looked at her in disbelief, his brows furrowed. "You have three broken ribs. You're in pain. And you still think about the privacy of others?"

She shrugged at him and immediately regretted the sudden movement. Why not care about such things, even if she was injured? As long as she didn't had to walk around like that for days, or she was bleeding to death or such, it was completely fine with her.

"TARDIS. Sickbay. Now.", he said as he took her by the hand.

"The TARDIS is in there.", she remembered suddenly.

"Yeah. That's why we're going there."

He had now turned his head to her, dragging her into the building, evading debris from the blast without even looking at it.

 _Great. And I manage to fall over chairs in my direct field of vision._

"She's not made of wood on the outside, is she? Because if that's the case, then..."

"Nah. She's fine." He was now walking next to her down a corridor.

"I'm old enough to walk on my own, you know?", she said after a few minutes of silence. He was still holding her by her hand.

"Oh, I don't doubt that."

She eyed him from the side. There was so much she wanted to ask him. Wanted to talk about with him. But suddenly she didn't dare. Was it because of what she had heard last night? Well, she hadn't assumed anything else, had she?

 _You have._

Even back in the class-room and later in the canteen it had seemed to her as if their was some sort of understanding between them. Or had it all been just polite interest? And why did she care at all? She hardly knew him, and it wasn't as if she was planning to stay here. Above that, he was a complete mystery to her. Was she annoying him? What did he feel about their conversation a few nights ago? About what she was? Was she really just allowed to stay out of pity? She suddenly realised just how much she always had relied on the empathy.

 _Well, just as much as other people rely on their eyesight._

Maybe she should leave. The thought stroke her out of nowhere, filling her mind. Leaving as long as there was time for doing so without causing any damage. Not to Rose, not to herself, and not to him. She was about to play with fire, she noticed all of a sudden. She had seen a different side of him at the swimming pool, and she knew herself rather good by now. They were more or less constantly challenging each other since he had rescued her. Not that she didn't liked it in some way. But how must this look like to Rose? To her it must just seem like flirting. No wonder she was jealous.

Talking to him, even being with him was a bit like walking over a minefield. Well, at least from her point of view. His point she could only guess. And that was driving her mad. At the same time his mere presence somehow had a strangely calming effect on her.

It was almost as if she was running in circles. She didn't really know what to do because her psychic senses weren't really working on him and because of that...

"You're not thinking about leaving?" She almost jumped as she heard his voice. Almost, yet still enough to send a stinging pain through her body. She looked up, directly into his eyes. Eyes so deep and dark that they almost appeared to be black and made her instantly forget the pain.

 _What the hell?_

Did he just...? She felt how her face started to burn as it turned red. She immediately strengthened the mental barriers around her mind. She had neglected them a bit lately, she had to admit. On the other hand, it hadn't prevented the TARDIS from getting into her mind, had it?

She also noticed that he had let go of her hand. When did that happen?

"How...?", she looked at him bewildered, only too aware of the fact that her face must still be glowing red.

"I just thought. You heard us last night at the shop, didn't you? Rose and me."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

They had almost reached the TARDIS as they stopped in the corridor. He looked at her face which was red with embarrassment. Had she noticed anything? Well, not that he had actually done anything. It was she who was thinking that loud. At least he assumed it had been her. Who else could it be?

 _Maybe I should leave._

He had heard it out of nowhere in his mind. Just subtle and quiet, not much more than a distant whisper, soft and with a somehow dark and cold undertone to it, but nevertheless, he had heard it. The first telepathic voice in his head for quite some time. How did she do it anyway? She had told him she could interact with telepaths and mirror them in some way, but he wasn't too sure how she had meant that.

He had let go of her hand immediately, for he was afraid that maybe the physical contact had triggered it a bit and he didn't want to hear any more of her thoughts. At least not without her permission.

It also might have not been the best idea to directly bring up what he had just heard, but he assumed he had a decent justification for his question.

 _Yeah, assuming put it quite right._

It was written all over her face that she wasn't buying it.

Besides that, she had asked 'How?'. Not 'Why' as in: Why do you think that? It had been 'How' as in: How do you know? Above all it was her mental shields that gave it away. She had suddenly raised them and he could clearly feel them now.

He wasn't even sure why he had asked it at all. He didn't wanted to hear the answer. What if she was about to say that she would leave? He knew he wouldn't stop her. He had never stopped any of his companions. If they wanted to leave him and go on with their own lives, he had hardly ever found it in himself to ask them to stay. Not if they were really serious about leaving.

And it had broken his hearts every single time.

Well, not that he knew her as long as he had known the others, but anyway. It was.. nice having her around. The way she had covered the boy with her own body as the Krillitane attacked, even though she was already injured. Her opinion about taking orders, despite her being with the military. Not to mention what she had said to him earlier..

 _It's just us who remain._

He had almost given up hope to find someone who could actually understand how he was feeling.

"I...", she started to say.

"Oh, stupid me.", he interrupted her immediately. "Maybe now's not the time for that. You're in pain, and I'm just asking questions which can easily wait for later." He could actually see her pain. Her pupils were slightly dilated and he had felt her raised heartbeat as he was holding her hand.

"Come on.", he said and carefully placed an arm around her shoulders. Never mind physical contact.

He guided her down the rest of the corridor, through the door and into the storage room where the TARDIS was waiting.

Once inside, he eyed her carefully. "Just one minute.", he said. "Wait here. Just right here. I'll be right back. Don't wander off! Please." He turned on his heels and was out again. K9. If there was anything left of him he maybe would be able to fix him. Even if not, he couldn't risk that anyone would find his remains. The place must be crawling with firefighters and such at any minute.

He found him in the kitchen where he had left him. The place was badly damaged, and so was K9.

"Poor dog.", he said as he crouched at his side. His ears were fallen off and hanging on cables at his side, his casing was badly burned and even had a few holes. He lifted him up and rushed back to the TARDIS. He halfway expected Mira to be gone, but to his surprise she was still in the console room, leaning against the chair.

"Wow. He is really heavy.", she commented as he hurried in, K9 still in his arms.

"Yeah, and I'm really strong.", he said whilst putting the dog on the floor.

"He's beyond repair, isn't he?", she asked sympathetically.

"I'm not sure yet.", he informed her. "Let's fix you first. Come."

She followed him out of the console room and into the corridor. He had already seen in his mind that the TARDIS had kindly moved the sickbay right next to the console room.

"Sit down.", he asked her, as he held open the door for her.

"She has rearranged again?", she wondered, whilst carefully lifting herself up on one of the beds.

"Yeah. She does that.", he said casually as he was switching on the medical scanner and then went through some of the equipment. The bones were just plain fractured and not shifted against each other, at least not the last time he had scanned her with his Sonic.

"Oh shit.", he heard behind his back, making him turn on the spot. She sat on the bed, her shirt pulled halfway up and looking at her side. "It's so blue, it's almost black..."

"I told you they are broken.", he shook his head. The bruise went from her waist up to where her skin was still covered by her shirt.

She gave the impression as if she was about to say something against it, so he just switched on a screen at the bed-head. After a few adjustments she could now clearly see for herself.

"Yeah. I believe you.", she sighed. "Did so all the time, by the way."

"Good.", he said, raising an eyebrow at her. "It's the lowest three ribs.", he continued quietly after he had pulled a chair to the bed and grabbed a device that looked a bit like his Sonic. It would just stabilise the bones and numb the nerves for a while to ease the pain. "It's not too bad..." She twitched as he lifted the hand that was holding the bone-stabiliser. "I'm not touching it.", he reassured her with a gentle voice, looking up at her. He switched on the device which came alive with a buzzing sound and a red light at its top. He let it hover about two inches above her skin and slowly moved it along the fractures. He could feel that she was staring at him. "What's it?", he asked after a few minutes of silence, looking at her face again. She breathed in as if she was about to speak, but instead she just exhaled, bit her lip and looked away. "Nothing." she said after a few seconds.

"Mira, if there is something, just tell me." He had also turned his head, looking at her skin again. There was something in the air. Like a deep, black cloud hanging above their heads. Why was it that they couldn't just talk? Whenever they were alone, things seemed to grow heavy with meaning. But not necessarily in a bad way. Well, somehow.

"You do want to leave, don't you?", he continued without looking at her as she remained silent.

"You did really hear it.", she said.

"Yeah. Sorry. It was just that. 'Maybe I should leave.' You were thinking quite loud, we were touching each other, well, I didn't try it deliberately, I...It just happened.", he stumbled, gesticulating with his free hand.

"It's OK.", she said softly, now looking at him again. "Just one thing."

"Yes?"

"Back in 1879 you said something about seeing time."

 _Well, if there had ever been a change of topic..._

He switched off the device and she pulled down her shirt again. "Thank you.", she murmured.

"Yeah, I did...", he said carefully.

"How did you mean that? Do you see time as a whole, I mean, great, important events, or, well... down to individuals?"

All right, now he knew where this was heading. He eyed her. Not only her hands were shaking slightly again – they hadn't done that until they had reached the sickbay – he could even hear her heart beating heavy in her chest.

"I do see timelines, even of individual people. Not everything is fixed yet, so sometimes I can't say what really will come to be in the end.", he said quietly. "But I can't see yours. You're not a part of this universe. I'm sorry, but I can't see if and when you will find a way back."

"Thanks. It was worth a try, I guess.", she whispered almost inaudibly, avoiding his gaze.

"I'm so sorry.", he said again. He really meant it. There was one more thing he wanted to talk about with her. About this universe being sealed off. But as he looked at her, he just didn't have the hearts to do so.

"It's OK.", she finally said not really convincing and hopped of the bed. "Let's see what the others are doing."

* * *

 _10th Squad 3rd Seat : Thanks for your reviews and corrections :-) I've already fixed it. And yeah, the commas. I just realised that myself during the last chapters ;-) The German language has an awful lot of them (but you really do need them all) and I'm really using them quite excessively. But I've already started to eliminate them. :D_

 _time-twilight : Thanks for your reviews. I'm thinking about your idea, but I can't promise anything yet. Let's see if it fits in somewhere. :-)_

 _Alwaystherereading : Thanks to you too. I'm afraid this chapter is rather sad again. But they're both masters in avoiding certain topics, so what can I do... But i'm optimistic that they will work it out sooner or later ;-)_


	11. Chapter 11 - Sarah Jane

_I have fixed the were/where problem. In all chapters. Ups. XD Sorry for that and thanks for pointing it out. :-)_

* * *

 **Chapter XI**

 _Mira´s POV_

They had helped to remove the glass-shards from Sarah´s car. Fortunately it was not too badly damaged. It had a few scratches, but not even the headlights were broken. After that Sarah had said goodbye – but just for now, as she was eager to make sure. She needed some sleep as they all did. Well, in the Doctor´s case Mira wasn´t that sure.

They hurried to get back to the TARDIS, the Doctor holding the Psychic Paper to all Firemen and Police Officers in their way. Mira had given it back to him earlier on. Once they had reached it, the Doctor had immediately 'parked' his ship somewhere else, before he had turned his attention to K9. Mickey – who had followed them – and Rose had gone to her room, and she herself felt no desire to talk to the Doctor right now. She needed to figure out a few things on her own before she could talk to him again. Besides that she was feeling really exhausted. So she had wished him a good night and went to her room.

After she had taken a long and hot shower she was sitting now on her bed and leaning against the wall, dressed in an oversized grey sleeping-shirt.

 _Great. He_ had _to hear that._

Although he had said that he had heard only that one sentence, she herself wasn´t so sure about it. She hit her head slightly against the wall as she was recalling what else she had thought about him. It would be so embarrassing.

Another slight bang against the wall.

And why was he so eager to get an answer from her? If she could trust her – non psychic – feelings, she would have guessed that he didn´t want her to leave. On the other hand, it could easily be the opposite case.

 _Bang._ Next hit. Maybe that would turn her thoughts around a bit. Help them to change their direction. All of sudden a feeling of disapproval crept into her mind.

 _Really?_

She took a look around her and knocked her head against the wall once more. The feeling got even stronger.

"All right. Is it you worrying about my head or about your wall? Or something else?", she asked the TARDIS. No response. Of course. Not that she had expected any. She wasn´t even sure if the old Time Ship could actually 'talk'. There had been just emotions so far and small changes in the humming sound she was constantly producing.

Fine. Never mind that. There were other problems right now. And there actually _was_ a way to solve them. She had to just walk into the console room and speak her mind. Tell him everything that was going on in her head and demand some sensible response. But that would have been too easy and she wouldn´t have been Mira if she would have been able to act like that. She would just stand there, struggle for words, talk nonsense if anything at all or fall back to her 'professional' self. To her 'I like you but no matter what you do I don´t get attached to you'-self.

It was not as if she wasn´t seeing what was going on. Or going wrong, to be more precise. She was too old and had been through too much to not know herself. But just knowing yourself doesn´t mean you could change who you are.

Facing a hostile alien space-fleet? Easy. Running away from some Krillitanes? Piece of cake. Being lost in Andromeda Galaxy? Tough but they had made it. Losing Earth whilst sending the whole planet through a gigantic transmitter? She had done her bit to save the day. Every time the fate of humanity or the other intelligent species in her galaxy had been at stake she had fought for them without hesitation.

Getting out of her personal comfort-zone on the other hand? Impossible.

When it came to herself, she was sort of lost. She had always been there for others. Had always cared for them and given them advice. But she had hardly allowed anyone to get that close to herself in return or to help her the way she had helped them. She had kept them at a distant, just to remain in control. To remain independent. Only very few people were that close to her, people like her father and a handful of the other immortals. People she knew for forever now.

It wasn´t even the case that she was afraid of showing weakness. She just didn´t want to make herself vulnerable by letting anyone to close to her. It was her way of protecting herself.

And now here _he_ was.

Just looking into his dark alien eyes was enough to throw her completely out of balance. What was quite an achievement, by the way.

She was afraid that he would tear down every wall and defence she had build around herself within an instance if he wanted to do so. Be able to see right through everything she had turned into by pretending for long enough.

And she didn´t want that. It was working for her. Protected her from the pain of losing people she had relied on. Maybe it did make her a _bit_ lonely. Maybe even bitter and disillusioned sometimes. But in the end, everything had its price.

She sighed. She was tired of brooding over these things. Apart from that, the feeling of disapproval she got from the TARDIS had been replaced by something soothing and comforting. Making her a bit tired. Before she knew what she was doing she had lifted her hand and was gently stroking the wall behind her back. She was brooding to much about things she couldn´t influence.

 _Live is now. The future happens anyway._

She wrapped herself in the blanket, turned off the light and fell asleep a few minutes later.

 **…**

She had slept for about seven hours. The TARDIS had somehow produced an alarm-clock that was now sitting on the bedside table. As she was dressing herself she noted that her ribs weren´t hurting anymore. They seemed to be almost healed. Normally it would have taken up to five or six weeks, around half the time it would take for any normal human. It was still bruised, but even that had began to fade already. She finally combed her hair and decided to let it hang loose for now. After that she headed for the console room. It had been quite some time and she was wondering what the others were doing. She only found the Doctor there, trying to repair K9.

"Morning. Or whatever time it is," she said. "Any success?"

"Morning," he beamed at her. "Yeah, you can say so. Although I was afraid I was a bit hasty." He looked back and forth between K9 and the screen on the main console. "I gave Sarah Jane a call, but I thought it would take her a bit longer... Would you mind delaying her a bit?" He looked at her with furrowed brows and gesticulated towards the door. "I need to clean up this mess..."

"Fine..."

"Just don´t tell her about K9!"

"Whatever you want," she answered a bit confused.

She stepped outside and stood in a rather lovely park. He had landed the TARDIS right in it and no one seemed to notice the blue box any further. Sarah Jane was only a few feet away now.

"Hi!" Mira greeted her.

"Ah, hello! It´s Mira Rhodan, isn´t it? Or is it just a new version of Mr. Smith?"

"No, that´s actually my name," she answered with a smile, just to step in Sarah´s way as she was heading for the TARDIS door.

"Oh, I´m afraid you can´t go in there now," she hurried to say.

"Why not?"

"Well, the Doctor told me to delay you a bit. The console room is a mess." He had only asked her not to say anything about K9. "He´s repairing his ship, I believe."

"Oh well, that can take some time," Sarah sighed and walked over to a park bench where they sat down. It was a nice and rather warm day. They were just sitting for some time, enjoying the sun and listening to the birds.

"So, where are you from?" Sarah turned her face to her.

"Earth," Mira answered. She eyed Sarah for a moment. Sarah had a nice and open face with soft features and no bitterness in them. And there was a certain kind of wisdom about her that brightened up her eyes. "But not from this Earth. Different universe."

"Oh. Yeah, I heard what the Doctor had said. That you´re stuck here. How did that happen?" Sarah asked and Mira felt nothing but honest interest coming from her.

"It was an accident. Sort of. He saved my life, but I don´t have any idea how he found me."

"Well, that´s him," Sarah answered with a soft smile. "He was always having a talent for showing up exactly where he´s needed."

"So, for how long did you travel with him?"

"For quite a while. It´s a bit hard to keep track of it inside this amazing ship."

"But you didn´t recognise him at first," Mira told her.

"No. He had changed his face again."

There it was again. What did that mean?

"Who is he?" She just had to ask Sarah. "I mean, the more I learn about him, the less I understand who he is."

"Oh, he´s just wonderful." Sarah sounded a bit sad now. "He is warm-hearted, good, kind, infuriating, pig-headed and sometimes a bit blind. He rushes into your life, turns it upside down, shows you things and places you would have never dreamed of. And then, one day, it all ends. It will break your heart. That´s who he is. You either have to love or hate him. There is nothing in between."

Now there were tears in Sarah´s eyes. She blinked them away instantly. Mira swallowed hard. Sarah wasn´t the only one with tears in her eyes now. It must have been really hard to get back to a live on earth after flying through time and space with him. It seemed that Sarah had managed it quite well, though.

"Oh, don´t you cry because of an old woman," she said as she looked at Miras face.

"Never mind. I always tend to cry with others," Mira said whilst rubbing her eyes.

"So, how long have you been travelling with him?" Sarah wanted to know.

"Not that long. A bit longer than a week maybe?"

"Just let me tell you one thing: Meeting him of all people in this universe was the best thing that could have happened to you. If he invites you to come with him you should take that chance. As long as you´re young..." Sarah took her hand and looked right into her eyes. "He really broke my heart, but it was worth it."

Mira eyed her for a long moment. She had meant everything exactly as she had said it. She could feel the love and the admiration Sarah was still feeling for the Doctor. And even the pain of being left behind on Earth. It was almost as seeing him through Sarah´s eyes for a moment.

"I.. Actually, I thought...," Mira started to say as the door of the TARDIS opened.

* * *

 _Doctor´s POV_

They were sitting on a bench, Sarah holding Mira´s hand. Not really a surprise, he had seen it on the screen in the console room. He had wanted to switch it off, he really did. But he was too busy to clean up the mess he had produced the last night. He hadn´t really listened. Well, not that much. A bit, maybe. At least he had tried to not listen to them.

"Cuppa tea?" He smile at them. They stood up and he stepped aside as Sarah Jane walked through the door, followed by Mira. Rose and Mickey were waiting inside now. He watched Sarah in eager anticipation as she walked over to the central console.

"You've redecorated!"

"Do you like it?"

"Oh, I, I do. Yeah. I preferred it as it was, but uh... yeah. It'll do!"

"I love it," Rose said suddenly.

"Hey, you - what's forty seven times three hundred and sixty nine?" Sarah had now turned to her.

"No idea. It's gone now - the oil's faded," Rose answered.

"Seventeen thousand, three hundred forty-three," Mira murmured. She was standing next to him at the console now, cheekily smiling at him. "It´s a trick, and practice. Milo was faster," she added as he didn´t reply anything and just looked at her a bit perplexed.

"But you're still clever. More than a match for him," Sarah said to Rose. He kept himself busy with the console, pretending not to listen.

"You and me both," Rose answered her. "Doctor...?" He looked up and directly at Rose.

"Um - we're about to head off, but... you could come with us," he said with a cheerful smile. Well, it would be nice to travel with Sarah once more. He hadn´t even considered asking her. But maybe...

"No... I can't do this anymore," Sarah said after a moment of thinking. His smile faded as well as Rose´s.

"That´s too bad," he heard Mira say next to him.

"Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead! Time I stopped waiting for you and found a life of my own," Sarah explained quite enthusiastically.

"Can I come?" That was Mickey. He had almost forgotten about him.

"No, not with you," Mickey hurried to explain after he saw the look on Sarah´s face. "I mean... with you." And pointed over to him. "'Cause I'm not the tin dog. And I wanna see what's out there."

Good grief. Mickey the idiot. Mickey who screams like a little girl. Even Rose was mouthing a 'no' to him, whilst he heard a faint 'yes' from Mira who was still standing next to him.

"Oh, go on, Doctor. Sarah Jane Smith - a Mickey Smith. You need a Smith on board!" Sarah was trying to convince him.

Fine.

"Okay then, I could do with a laugh."

Rose wasn´t too pleased, that was clear to see.

"Rose, is that okay?" Well, even Mickey was noticing something from time to time.

"No, great. Why not?" Rose answered sarcastically.

"Well, I'd better go," Sarah finally broke the awkward silence in the console room. She took Rose aside and he turned his attention back to the console. Well, they were talking loud enough for his ears anyway.

"What do I do?" Rose asked Sarah quietly. "Do I stay with him?"

"Maybe." Sarah hugged her. "Find me... if you need to, one day. Find me. And be a bit more kind to the people around you. When he leaves some day it´s they who will stay with you then."

Meanwhile he had walked over to the door and was holding it open for Sarah. He stepped out with her.

"It's daft. But I haven't ever thanked you for that time, and like I said - I wouldn't have missed it for the world," she said to him once the door was closed.

"Something to tell the grand kids," he said to her cheerfully.

"Oh, I think it'll be someone else's grand kids now."

"Right. Yes, sorry - I didn't get a chance to ask. You haven't... there hasn't been anyone... ? You know... ?" Well, that was awkward.

"Well... there was this one guy. I travelled with him for a while. But he was a tough act to follow," she said. He smiled softly at her. Sarah Jane Smith. She had been such a wonderful person to have along.

"Goodbye, Doctor," she continued.

"Oh, it's not goodbye..."

"Say it, please. This time. Say it," she demanded.

"Goodbye. My Sarah Jane," he said after a moment, looking her straight in the eyes. Just to throw his arms around her the next moment. He lifted her off the ground while hugging her. They smiled at one another one last time before he returned to the TARDIS.

Inside the console room was only Mira sitting on the chair.

"Mickey was hungry. Rose is showing him the kitchen," she informed him.

"Well then, off we go," he said whilst looking at her. "Been down on a planet far too long." She didn´t made any attempt to walk to the doors. So she was staying? He entered some random coordinates, started the engines and released the brake.

"What´s with K9?"

"I left him behind. I think he´ll have a good live with Sarah," he said with a soft smile.

"Yeah. She was really nice. Very much so. Such a shame that she didn´t want to stay."

"Yupp. So. What about you?" He pulled nervously at his earlobe. "Do you still want to leave?"

"I never said that I _want_ to leave," she said after a moment of consideration. "First of all: I was _thinking_ about it. Not everything we think is meant to be spoken out aloud. Second of all it was: Maybe I _should_ leave."

"So where´s the difference?"

"Well... What we want isn´t always what we should do. I think I actually want to stay. But I´m not sure if I should."

There it was again. One moment of blunt honesty. The same honesty that had captivated him back then in the library. No wavering around, no hiding, just saying what was going on in her mind. She was looking right at him now. Was there a hint of fear in her eyes? Fear of what?

He would really be able to help her much better if she would just talk to him. Or... No. Not a good idea to ask for _that_ now. Not after he had accidentally read one of her thoughts.

"Nah. Who says we shouldn´t do what we want? Besides, I guess there is only one way of finding out, hm?"

"I guess you´re probably right."

* * *

 _fantasiesfuture: __Tanks for your review.  
_ _I´m not sure what you´re meaning with translating it. I have started a fanfic in German with the same characters, but a different story. This one is not a translation, I´m writing it from scratch in English, I don´t even think in German whilst writing it. :-)_

 _10th Squad 3rd Seat: I´m working at your corrections, thanks for them. :-) Glad you like it so far._

 _Alwaystherereading: egg-thingy is great, may I use that? XD Yes, it would heal faster, but it´s not a vampire-style instant-healing. There is no strict statement about how fast it would happen, neither in the series nor in the 'official' wiki. I might say about twice as fast as in normal persons (without egg-thingy), but that´s just my personal opinion._

 _Time-twilight: I´ve almost forgotten that episode. So: No, I won´t do it. Just seen it once, and besides that, I found the end rather creepy, almost a bit disgusting. Say even I who love to read Stephen King._


	12. Chapter 12 - The Girl in the Fireplace I

**Chapter XII**

 _Rose's POV_

During the breakfast Rose had time to think about what Sarah had told her. She wasn't that rude to Mickey, was she? She just didn't like to have him here with the Doctor thinking that Mickey was still her boyfriend. Well, they weren't separated by now, at least they hadn't talked about it yet. Nevertheless, he was a friend to her. She had known him for quite a while now, and she couldn't see why they couldn't still be friends. Just friends.

She just hated to share the Doctor, that was why she didn't want Mickey here. It was nice to have the Doctor's full attention. He took her seriously and – probably for the first time ever – she felt important and special.

And now there was not only Mickey, but also Mira. She had exactly seen the looks the Doctor constantly gave her. She herself felt almost inferior to her. The other woman was educated and she seemed to be able to keep up with the Doctor's explanations, at least most of the times.

Of course, the Doctor had told her that he would never leave her behind. And she was quite sure that she knew what he had wanted to say. But he didn't actually say it. She needed to _hear_ it from him, just once. Only to be sure.

Anyway, that had been the better part of what he had said. The rest had almost felt like slapping her right in the face. She had realised that there was one thing she could never give him. She could never spend his life with him. Something Mira could, for she was immortal and even older than him.

All right. She wouldn't give up without a fight, that's for sure. Despite what she had said to Sarah about fighting over a man. Mira was neither Sarah nor Shireen and certainly not her friend.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

It was crowded in the console room now, he came to notice. Pretty crowded, although he originally didn't want to travel with anyone after the war. Then he had met Rose.

Rose... She had really pulled him out of his loneliness with all her youth and openness and light-heartedness. It was as if he could see all the places he had showed her so far through her eyes for the first time all over again. And for this he was more than grateful. Oh well, and now there was Mira. In some - interesting - ways exactly the opposite of Rose.

He was also noticing the growing tension between the two of them. He had hoped that they would work it out somehow on their own, that he didn't have to deal with it – but unfortunately this didn't seem to be the case.

 _Not to forget Mickey-Ricky._

Well, at least Mira seemed to get along quite well with him. During breakfast she had told Mickey about the place where she came from. This City of Terrania was actually existing, just not on an island but in the Gobi Desert. It was the capital city of the Solar System. He was only halfway listening, as Rose was talking to him about some of their adventures.

He wondered once more how Rose could be together with such a coward as Mickey. She was so much more clever and courageous than him.

"So, here we are!" he exclaimed as he pulled a lever. The engines of the TARDIS stopped and the sound of them faded.

"Where?" Mickey wanted to know, his hands almost at the door.

"Oh, wait. Not so fast." He hurried to get his cloak He had an idea of their whereabouts, but he wasn't entirely sure that there was no danger outside the TARDIS.

He moved past Mickey and opened the door. They were in a space-ship as he had expected it. No one in sight. He moved away from the door so that the others could follow him.

"It's a spaceship! Brilliant, I got a spaceship on my first go!" Mickey yelled in excitement.

"Looks kind of abandoned... Anyone on board?" Rose wondered.

"Nah, nothing here. Well! Nothing dangerous. Well! Not that dangerous," he said. It _looked_ abandoned, that was true. "You know what, I'll just have a quick scan... in case there's anything dangerous."

"I don't think anyone – besides us - is here," Mira said. She had separated herself a bit from their little group and gave the impression as if she was listening to something. "At least no living being."

He eyed her for a moment. Her hair was now tucked up into a bun, quite similar to the style she was wearing when he had found her, and she clearly looked like as if she was in her element now. Being here, exploring a foreign, unknown, and possibly deserted space-ship.

He walked over to a control panel and tried some of the buttons.

"So, what's the date? How far we gone?" Rose asked.

"About three thousand years into your future, give or take," he answered and then pulled a switch. Suddenly the ship had some energy again, and the roof was opening. Of course not completely, just some steel plates which protected the actual windows glided to the sides. They were all looking up now, Mickey in pure amazement. It was the first time he saw that, the Doctor thought.

"Fifty-first century. Diagmar Cluster, you're a long way from home, Mickey! Two and a half galaxies!"

"Two and a half galaxies!?" Mira yelled, causing all of them to look at her. She was staring at him like a deer caught in headlights. "That's at least six point twenty-five million light-years, based on the distance Milky-Way-Galaxy and Andromeda-Galaxy."

"Yeah, must seem a bit far to ya, huh?" Rose murmured. He shot her a warning glance. Was that really necessary?

"It's not the distance, Rose," Mira answered, still a bit stunned and obviously ignoring the provocation. "It's the time it took us to get here. Or better: The time it _didn't_ take. We were only flying for minutes. Not even an hour."

Now he was smiling all over his face. Maybe aliens in school and space-ships didn't impress her that much, because she had seen it countless times before, given her age. But it were these _little_ things that were really astonishing her. Things that most of his other companions had just accepted, because they didn't have the scientific background to grasp what it takes to travel over such a distance in such a short time.

She on the other hand had it.

As they had prepared themselves for going undercover at the school they had found time to talk about some of the principles of space-travel in her universe. Her knowledge of these things was really amazing, at least for a human.

"You really have to explain to me how her engines are working," she said to him whilst pointing at the TARDIS.

"I don't think you would understand it," he answered, now only smiling slightly.

"I'm afraid so. But I still would like to hear it," she said. After that, she walked over to Rose and Mickey, who were standing in front of a window.

"Mickey Smith, meet the universe. See anything you like?" Rose asked whilst putting her arm around him.

"It's so realistic!" Mickey said in amazement. The Doctor just rolled his eyes. Of course it was realistic.

"Oi!" He turned his head as he felt a slight poke of an elbow in his side. Mira was now standing next to him

"Don't be so hard on him," she said quietly. "I'm afraid I wasn't much different when I saw space for the first time. I mean, with my own eyes and not from the surface of planet. You think you know how it looks. You've seen all these pictures of nebulas, Earth from above, galaxies... But then you see it with your own eyes. You really _see_ that it's alive, all of it. Not just some dead, old picture. It really gets to you. Especially when you were born at a time were there is no real space travel and you had assumed all your life you will never see this for yourself."

She was now looking up and through the windows in the ceiling. All right. Maybe she was right in some way. Maybe he really was a bit hard on Mickey.

"So, you were born before the age of space travel?" he asked.

"Yeah. In 1954."

"How does it come that you are only around fifteen-hundred years old in 4197?"

"Fifteen-hundred and ninety-six," she said. "I did some maths at Sarah's place. I really thought it was less than fifteen-hundred. And to answer your question: I missed some of the years between 1954 and 4197. Wasn't really voluntarily, though."

He was about to ask her to tell him more how this had happened as Rose turned around to them.

"So, an all deserted space-ship?" she asked and gave him one of her tongue-between-teeth smiles.

"Well, it clearly looks as someone has a ton of repair going on here," he said and walked back to the control panel. A screen on it had come to life as he had pulled the switch. "Now that's odd, look at that. All the warp engines are going... full capacity! There's enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe... and we're not moving. So where's all that power going?" he wondered. Now Mickey, Rose and Mira had all gathered around him and were looking at the screen.

"Where'd all the crew go?" Rose asked.

"Good question, no life readings on board," he answered.

"Well, we're in deep space; they didn't just nip out for a quick fag," Rose said.

"Nope, checked all the smoking pods." It was strange indeed. As if the crew had just vanished into thin air in the middle of the repairs. And there was something else...

"Can you smell that?" he asked.

"Smells like the kitchen is still working," Mira said.

"Sunday roast, definitely!" Mickey fell in.

He pressed on the button for the door controls. The layout of the control panel wasn't that complex.

"Nice interior," he heard Mira say as they walked through the door that had opened behind them. That was certainly one way of putting it.

"Yeah, indeed. Something you don't see in your average space-ship. Eighteenth century! French! Nice mantel." He pulled out his sonic. It was a proper fireplace with a fire burning in it. He could even feel the heat coming from it. "Not a hologram," he added after he had scanned it with his Sonic. He bent down to examine it closer. "Not even a reproduction, this actually is an eighteenth century French fireplace. Double-sided, there's another room through there," he informed the others. Mira was instantly at his side to see for herself.

"There can't be, that's the outer hull of the ship, look," he heard Rose saying.

"But there is," Mira insisted.

She was now crouching beside him, so they both saw the little girl that was sitting on the other side in front of the fire.

"Hello!" he said friendly.

"Hello...," the girl answered, seemingly unsettled but not as afraid as she should be with someone looking through her fireplace, he thought.

"What's your name?" he asked her with a smile.

"Reinette."

"Reinette, that's a lovely name. Can you tell me where you are at the moment, Reinette?"

"In my bedroom," she answered suspiciously.

"And where's your bedroom? Where do you live, Reinette?"

"Paris, of course!"

"Paris, right!"

"Monsieur, what are you doing in my fireplace?" the girl asked.

"Oh, it's just a routine... fire check. Can you tell me what year it is?" he replied.

"Of course I can! Seventeen hundred and twenty seven."

"Right, lovely! One of my favourites... August is rubbish though. Stay indoors. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for your help. Hope you enjoy the rest of the fire. Night night!"

"Goodnight Monsieur," the girl replied politely.

He stood up again and looked at the others.

"Well, that was weird. She wasn't afraid at all. Just a bit unsettled and curious," Mira said.

"You said this was the fifty-first century," Mickey pointed out.

"I guess that's where all the power is going, isn't it?" Mira replied, pointing at the fireplace.

"Yeah, that's what I think too. This ship is actually punching a hole in the universe. Well, to be more precise: In time. Must be a spatio-temporal hyperlink," he answered.

"Wait. What's that?" Mira wanted to know with a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"No idea. Just made it up. Didn't wanna say 'magic door'," he replied.

"And on the other side of the _magic door_ is France in 1727?" Rose asked him.

"Well, she was speaking French. Right period French, too," he said whilst taking of his coat and throwing it in the corner. There must be some way to get through this window in time...

"She was speaking English, I heard her!" Mickey exclaimed. The Doctor just hoped that someone else would explain it to him. He had done it too many times in his life already.

"That's the TARDIS - translates for ya," Rose finally said as she put an arm around Mickeys shoulders.

"Even French?!"

"Yep," Rose replied.

The Doctor eyed the fireplace once more, before hitting his knee against its side. The whole thing began to turn. "Gotcha!" he said whilst holding onto it.

"Doctor!" was the last thing he heard from behind him.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She watched the Doctor disappear as the whole fireplace rotated.

 _Great. He didn't just do that, did he?_

She looked through the fireplace once more, but the room behind it was now somehow blurred. Well, the whole system had changed now with the Doctor on the other side.

"Why can't we see where he's gone?" Rose asked. The girl was now at her side.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I can only guess. Look at this as a system. As in Physics. He went through the door and changed the system by doing so. Altered the energy levels of it, and for this how it behaves. Ever heard of Hyper-physics?" she looked at Rose, who was just shaking her head.

"No," Rose said. "Maybe we should follow him..."

"I don't think so. At least not yet. Give him a bit more time." She stood up and looked around her.

The TARDIS. But he had locked the door behind him, hadn't he?

"Rose, do you have a key for the TARDIS?"

"Yeah, why? Do you want to leave? You can't fly it!"

"No. But we're on some space-ship in the middle of nowhere. There might not be any life-form on board, but maybe there are robots or something like that. We might need a place to hide." It was strange indeed. The ships of the fleet were literally crawling with battle robots whenever an intruder was detected. Robots where omnipresent where she came from, ever since the days of the Solar Empire. Almost everyone protected their ships with them.

"But...," Rose started to speak but never managed to finish the sentence. Right at this moment the fireplace started to rotate again, making both of them jump a few steps backwards.

The Doctor reappeared again, accompanied by some weird sort of robot, dressed in cloths typical for French in the 18th century.

"Doctor!" Rose yelled.

The Doctor, instead of saying anything, just grabbed some weapon-like object from the wall and pointed it against the robot. To her surprise there was no ray of energy or anything like that. Instead it just sprayed ice at the robot, freezing it by doing so. As the robot didn't move any more, the Doctor threw the gun casually to Rose.

"Excellent, ice gun!" Mickey said appreciatively.

"Fire extinguisher," the Doctor replied.

"Where did you find that?" she asked him, nodding to the robot.

"Here," the Doctor told her.

"So why is it dressed like that?" Mickey wanted to know.

"Field trip to France, some kind of basic camouflage protocol - nice needlework! Shame about the face," the Doctor explained and ripped the wig and the mask from the robot.

"Oh..," she said and came closer. That was really beautiful. The robot's brain was made of gear-wheels, just like a clock-work.

"Oh, you are beautiful!" the Doctor spoke out what she was thinking.

"That's incredible. Look at it, how precise it is...," she admired the work that had been put into the robot's brain.

"Yeah, gorgeous!" the Doctor fell in. "It gives you chills, doesn't it?" he smiled at her and then looked at the robot again . "Space-Age-Clockwork! Listen, seriously, I mean this from the heart - and, by the way, count those - it would be a crime, it would be an act of vandalism to disassemble you."

 _More than one heart?_

"Is this really going to stop us from doing so?" she asked. They could put it back together afterwards, couldn't they?

He looked at her mischievously and pulled the strange scanning-device from his pocket. "No."

At this moment the robot creaked back into life. The clock-work was ticking again and it reached for its wrist. The next second it dissolved in a cloud of particles was gone.

"Oh, wow. Was that some sort of transmitter?" she wondered. The transmitters she knew could only transmit matter between two transmitting-stations. They had never managed to build one that could send objects anywhere without the need of a receiving station.

"Short range teleport, can't have got far. Could still be on board...," the Doctor said hastily.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"Don't go looking for it!" he replied as he headed for the fireplace.

"Where're you going?" Rose yelled after him.

"Back in a sec. Mira, have an eye on them!" And off he was again.

Mira just shook her head. She was right. There actually were robots on board. All right, time for a plan..

"What? Wait!", she said as she saw that Rose was weighing the fire-extinguisher suspiciously in her hands.

"He said not to look for it...," Mickey fell in. Sometimes cowardice wasn't that bad, Mira thought.

"Yeah, he did," Rose replied.

"Rose, don't!" Mira made another attempt to convince her. "You go back to the TAR..."

"Oh look. Now you sound just like him," Rose interrupted her and shot her a filthy look.

 _Seriously?_

"Rose, listen. This is dangerous. You can't just walk around here with this fire-ex..."

"Why not?" Mickey interrupted her. "Better go looking for them than waiting here."

"Mickey...," Mira tried it again.

"Now you're getting it!" Rose said to him, ignoring her completely now. Mickey took the second fire-extinguisher and they were both running out of the room.

"Wait!" She had no other choice than to follow them. If it was for her, she would have sent them both into the TARDIS and then taken a look for this robot on her own.

She had almost caught up with them, as Mickey was rolling over the floor like he was playing soldier.

"Mickey!", she yelled at him sharply. "Just do me one favour: Stick to the walls and don't roll over the floor as if playing living target. This is not some sort of action-movie."

Oh, she would be so dead if something happened to them. He would kill her, that's for sure.

"Rose, listen," she tried it once more. "This is not about you and me right now. If you want to look around on this ship, fine. But please, be careful. Don't rush like that."

 _Oh bloody hell. Convincing the Queen was easier._

"Not everything is about you," Rose murmured. Mira sighed. She really had to talk to Rose. Later, back in the TARDIS.

"Look at this," Mickey said suddenly and pointed up.

She turned her head. What was that? There was a camera, obviously observing them. But there was not a normal lens in it...

"That's an eye in there. That's a real eye." Mickey continued. He was right. And now she could hear something that sounded suspiciously like a heartbeat.

Rose bent down and opened a small, circular plate covering a hole in the wall. It seemed to be hot, for she quickly pulled away her hands at the first try. Now all three of them where peering into the hole.

"Holy shit," Mira said. There actually was a heart, wired into the rest of the machinery of the ship.

"What is that? What's that in the middle there? It's like it's wired in," Mickey asked horrified.

"That's a heart, Mickey... that's a human heart," Rose answered disgustedly.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He had just wanted to look after Reinette. Just to make sure that she was all right. Well, he hadn't expected that so much time had passed for her and that she was now a grown woman. Very grown indeed. He hardly had a chance to say anything, and then, all of a sudden he had found himself with his back against the fireplace with Reinette kissing him. And what a kiss it was.

He normally wasn't that much into these things. Of course, he had done it occasionally, kissing and such, being around for longer than nine-hundred years now. Plus, he had been around humans for long enough. They really where into these things. With each other, with aliens, spreading throughout the whole universe in that way. And it really wasn't that bad. It was as far as they could go to connect with each other. Basically, it was all just about chemical reactions. Hormones and neurotransmitters being released, rendering their brains useless for the time being and giving them a feeling of comfort, belonging, and even love.

But hell, Reinette was a good kisser. Before he knew what he was doing, he was kissing her back with his hands on her waist. The scent of her perfume and her skin were just stunning. Not to mention the sweet taste of her soft lips on his and all the passion she put into this kiss...

"Mademoiselle Poisson!" the servant was calling once more.

She broke the kiss and hurried away, leaving him completely dumbfounded.

Suddenly his brain started to work again.

"Poisson? Reinette Poisson?" he said to the servant who was now standing in the door, looking at him in bemusement.

"No... no, no, no, no, no way, Reinette Poisson?!" He ran right up to the servant, looking at him as if waiting for an answer. "Later Madame Etoiles? Later still mistress of Louis the Fifteenth, uncrowned Queen of France?" he continued without giving the other man a chance to speak. "Actress, artist, musician, dancer, courtesan? Fantastic gardener!" he laughed. He was now standing next to the fireplace again.

"Who the hell are you?!" the servant finally managed to say.

"I'm the Doctor. And I just snogged Madame de Pompadour!" he told him with a grin whilst reaching for the trigger. Instantly the fireplace was rotating again.

"Oh come on!" He was back on the ship. No one there. "Rose? Mira?"

He looked around. "Mickey?" Great. He did tell them, didn't he? As he always did.

"Every time, every time, it's rule one - Don't wander off! I tell them, I do, rule one! There could be anything on this ship!" he was talking to himself as he went off to search for them.

* * *

 _time-twilight:_ _I'm not too sure yet, but there's still a lot of stories left with the 10th Doctor :-)_


	13. Chapter 13 - The Girl in the Fireplace 2

**Chapter XIII**

 _Doctor's POV_

He walked through the corridors, searching for his companions. "Rose? Mira?" Nothing. He sighed and turned around.

 _A horse?_

It was just standing there in the middle of the corridor and looking at him. It probably came through one of the time windows, he thought and continued in his search, with the horse following him.

"Will you stop following me? I'm not your mother!" he had turned around to the horse once more and looked at it in irritation. The horse just nosed him and didn't seem to be too impressed by his request.

"You didn't accidentally come by some people in here? Humans? Two women and a Mickey? No?" he asked. The horse whinnied and shook its head. "Well, not the answer I hoped for, but thanks."

He proceeded his search and not much later he stood in front of a set of white, French double doors. "So this is where you came from, eh, horsey?"

He stepped through the door and found himself standing in the garden of Versailles. A few yards away he spotted a familiar figure. Reinette was walking away from him with some other woman at her side. Reinette was a remarkable woman, he thought as he watched her from behind a small wall. She was fearless as a little child and had grown into a determined, strong minded woman. Of course he knew everything about her history and he was thrilled to meet her, as he always was when meeting important people of history.

Only when she was out of his sight he went back to the ship. The horse was still there, waiting for him. "You don't want to go home?" he asked and winked at the doors. "No?"

He walked through a few more corridors as he finally heard Mickey's voice from around a corner.

"Blimey, look at this guy. Who does he think he is?"

He stepped up to them. They were standing in front of what seemed to be a mirror. They could see right through it, but the people on the other side didn't notice them.

"King of France," he answered Mickeys question.

"Oh, here's trouble. What you been up to?" Rose asked.

"Well, I could ask you the same thing," he said to Rose. "Didn't I tell you to have an eye on them? And not to follow the robot?", he asked Mira. At least from her he had expected some reason.

"Funny. Not," Mira said.

"So, what did you do?" Rose asked hastily once more. What had happened now between her and Mira?

"Oh, this and that. Became the imaginary friend of a future French aristocrat... picked a fight with a clockwork man...," he answered casually whilst looking through the mirror. Suddenly the horse whinnied once more and trotted around the corner. "Oh, and I met a horse."

"What's a horse doing on a spaceship?" Mickey asked perplexed.

"Mickey, what's pre-Revolutionary France doing on a spaceship? Get a little perspective," he answered before changing the topic. "See these? They're all over the place. On every deck. Gateways to history. But not just any old history..." Right then Reinette entered the room. "Hers. Time window... deliberately arranged along the life of one particular woman. A spaceship from the fifty-first century stalking a woman from the eighteenth. Why?"

"Who is she?" Rose asked.

"Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, known to her friends as Reinette. One of the most accomplished women who ever lived."

Now they could see how Reinette was introduced to the King of France.

"So has she got plans of being the Queen, then?" Rose asked.

"No, he's already got a Queen. She's got plans of being his mistress," he said, making Rose smile rather silly.

"Oh, I get it. Camilla," she said before she and Mickey started to laugh. Even Mira shot them a rather irritated glance now.

"I think this is the night they met. The night of the Yew Tree ball. In no time at flat, she'll get herself established as his official mistress, with her own rooms at the palace... even her own title - Madame de Pompadour," he continued to explain, trying to ignore Rose and Mickeys childlike behaviour. Reinette was now standing right in front of the mirror, smoothing her dress.

"Madame de Pompadour?" Mira asked excited. "She's the girl we saw through the fireplace? My goodness, she's really beautiful..."

"Queen must have loved her...," Rose threw in.

"Oh, she did. They get on very well," he said. Rose didn't looked to convinced.

"You know that these were mainly arranged marriages?" Mira said to Rose. "At first they had to think about their country, about France. Most of the times in these marriages they were at least friends, but if they found the rest of it elsewhere, why not? At least the Queen knew about Reinette..."

"The King's wife and the King's girlfriend?" Mickey obviously couldn't believe it.

"France. It's a different planet," he said. Then, suddenly, his eyes fell on the clock on the mantelpiece. A broken clock. At this very moment Reinette turned around, looking at someone who stood behind her in a corner of the room.

Without thinking twice about it he took the fire-extinguisher from Mickey and swung the mirror around.

"Hello, Reinette. Hasn't time flown?" he greeted her as he entered the room.

"Fireplace man!" She was visibly surprised to see him.

He hurried to freeze the robot. Once it had stopped moving, he threw the fire-extinguisher back to Mickey. Then he eyed the clockwork-droid carefully. It was clicking and clattering loudly.

"Doesn't sound too healthy," Mira commented it.

"It's switching back on. Melting the ice," he said.

"And then what?" Mickey wanted to know as he gave the robot a worried look.

"Then it kills everyone in the room." the Doctor replied as if pointing out the obvious. Mickey, he thought and rolled his eyes.

The next moment he was forced to jump backwards. The robot had suddenly extended one of its arms, holding a nasty looking blade at his throat. "Focuses the mind, doesn't it?" he said as he hurried to get in front of Reinette. "Who are you? Identify yourself," he demanded to know from the robot. He had even raised his voice a bit, now the fun was clearly over. Time for some serious answers.

Well, the clockwork-droid didn't seem to agree with that, for he didn't say anything.

"Order it to answer me," he said to Reinette.

"Why should it listen to me?" she replied in confusion.

"I don't know. It did when you were a child. Let's see if you've still got it."

"Answer his question. Answer any and all questions put to you," she finally gave it a try and addressed the robot.

"I am repair droid seven," it said after lowering his arm.

"So what happened to the ship, then? There was a lot of damage," the Doctor continued in questioning the robot. Finally some answers.

"Ion storm, eighty two percent systems failure."

"That ship hasn't moved in over a year. What's taken you so long?"

"We did not have the parts."

"Why didn't you call for help?" Mira wanted to know.

"We did not have the parts."

"What's happened to the crew, where are they?" Now it was the Doctor's turn again.

"We did not have the parts."

Slowly but surely he was getting annoyed by the robot. They had a really lame speech protocol.

"There should have been over fifty people on your ship. Where did they go?" he tried it again.

"We did not have the parts."

"Fifty people don't just disappear! Where...?"

Right... They didn't have the parts. Now it dawned on him.

"Oh sh...," Mira started, but suddenly stopped as she looked at Reinette. She really had a habit of swearing, he noticed. "Sorry. We found a heart. And an eye, wired into the machinery..." Mira continued.

"You didn't have the parts, so you used the crew," he summarised it.

"The crew?" Mickey asked in disbelief.

"It was just doing what it was programmed to. Repairing the ship any way it can, with whatever it could find. No one told it the crew weren't on the menu. What did you say the flight deck smelt of?" the Doctor asked in return.

"Sunday roast...," Mickey answered quietly.

"Flesh plus heat. Barbecue," he said grimly. His eyes fell on Reinette, who looked slightly sick now. "But what are you doing here? You've opened up time windows, that takes colossal energy. Why come here, you could have gone to your repair yard. Instead you come to eighteenth century France? Why?" he wondered.

"One more part is required," the droid answered as his head turned to Reinette.

"Then why haven't you taken it?"

"She is incomplete."

"What... so, that's the plan then? Just keep opening up more and more time windows, scanning her brain, checking to see if she's 'done yet'?" the Doctor asked furiously. What was this all about?

"Why her?" Rose suddenly asked. Oh Rose. Always asking the right questions at the right moment.

"You've got all of history to choose from, why specifically her?" Rose continued.

"We are the same," the robot said in response.

"We are not the same, we are in no sense the same!" Reinette said enraged. It seemed that she had overcome her sickness by now.

"We are the same," the robot insisted.

"Get out of here! Get out of here this instance!" Reinette demanded, her voice raised in anger.

"Reinette, no," the Doctor hurried to say, but it was too late. The droid had activated the teleport and was gone.

"It's back on the ship. Rose, Mira, you take Mickey and Arthur, get after it. Follow it, don't approach it, just watch what it does." he said to them. Hopefully the would listen this time.

"Arthur?" Rose asked him.

"Good name for a horse."

"No, you're not keeping the horse!" Rose complained.

"I let you keep Mickey! Now go, go, go!" he hurried them.

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

"So, that Doctor, eh?" Mickey said to her with a smirk on his face.

"What are you talking about?" she asked in return. Not a topic that she wanted to talk about now. Not with having that other woman around.

"Well! Madame de Pompadour. Sarah Jane Smith. Cleopatra," Mickey continued. He was really pissing her off right now.

"Cleopatra - he mentioned her _once_." she snapped at him.

"Yeah, but he called her 'Cleo'."

"So? What's it to you anyway?" She didn't want to think about these things. Not now nor ever. It was hurting her to imagine that the Doctor had been with women like Cleopatra.

"Rose, I think you worry too much. Do you really believe he hadn't had a life before he met you? He's over nine-hundred years old, what do you think? Nine-hundred years ago humanity was still in the middle-ages. Think about everything that has happened since then. It's such a long time," she heard Mira say.

"I think this is not your problem!" She looked at Mira. "Can't you just leave me alone?" She couldn't even stand Mira's glance out of these weird eyes of her. She almost felt naked. And she didn't want to hear what she was saying. She just took the same line as the Doctor did.

 _I'm so old and you just can't understand it._

"I was just trying to say that you could spare yourself a lot of pain if you would just accept the fact that he has a past. That's all," Mira said.

"Oh, just like you have one? I don't know how many men there've been in yours, but don't judge others by your own standards," she shot back.

"I don't think this is leading anywhere." That was all that Mira said after a moment. She didn't even raise her voice, or sounded pissed, or anything like that. Rose had really hoped that she had hit her in some way with her statement, but that didn't seem to be the case.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She shook her head slightly. She really should have hold her tongue. But it was really hard to witness how Rose was literally torturing herself. She had just wanted to help her to understand. She knew she could be a bit patronising and unnerving sometimes. Mainly because she had heard things like Rose had just said to her over and over again in her life. Sometimes justified, sometimes unjustified. But she _had_ heard it all before. And for that it just didn't affect her, and one could really tell that from her attitude.

That was also why she didn't care that much if she was the target of Rose's jealousy. She had really heard worse things and it took more than a nineteen year old teenager to baffle her. (OK, maybe that wasn't true if that very teenager was running around on some alien space ship without listening to her deliberately.) For god's sake, even if Rose would have been right, and she herself really had a crush on the Doctor, she could easily wait for another eighty years or so, until Rose was at the end of her life expectancy. Not that she would ever tell _that_ to Rose.

They were walking for a few minutes in silence. Nothing was happening, and that was almost suspicious. Where was the robot?

As if the droids had just waited for that, they suddenly materialised all around them. They were encircled, and before Rose or Mickey could shoot them with the fire-extinguishers, they were on them and grabbed them. The next thing she felt was a needle in her neck.

Almost instantly her vision blurred and she could feel all strength leaving her legs. She managed to look over to Mickey, who was already dropping to the floor, seemingly unconscious. She herself could feel how her cell-activator was trying to neutralise whatever these robots had injected into her neck.

She was on the verge of passing out as she dropped to the floor with her eyes closed just like Mickey and Rose. Even though she fought to remain conscious, she must have passed out for a moment. The next thing she noticed was being dropped down on the floor again. She carefully opened her eyes a bit, just to witness how the robots were manacling Mickey to some sort of table that was almost standing upright. It took two of the robots to hold him in place and a third one pushing the switch that closed the manacle. Two others were busy on some sort of panel. Rose was lying about two yards away from her – and between herself and the door was nothing. She still felt incredibly dizzy and weak, even though it appeared to get better every second. But she had to try it before they would turn their attention to her.

Try to get back to the corridor where they had left the fire-extinguisher. In case they were still there. And if she would find the way back again. But there was nothing she could do with her bare hands, not against at least five of these robots. But maybe they would follow her and so she could delay whatever they were about to do.

 _Repair the ship._

Great. She had to try it, now. She got up, faster than she had expected it, but as she made it for the door she was staggering so badly that she almost missed it. Thankfully the robots were anything but fast, at least as long as they didn't teleport. So she was a bit ahead of them as the first materialised in front of her. By now she wasn't that dizzy any more and could at least walk halfway straight. She aimed at him and make an attempt to pass by him on his left side. The stupid machine didn't calculate about that twice, and so the corridor on his right side was free for her. As she looked back, he had teleported himself away.

Around one more corner she could finally see the fire-extinguishers. She picked one of them up and made it back to the room where she had left Rose and Mickey. By now she was also feeling back to normal again. It must have been a drug with a rather short duration of effect.

The Doctor, by the way, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, another one of these clockwork-droids appeared in front of her. She froze him just as he extended his arm.

As she reached the room Rose and Mickey were just coming round again. There were only two robots left in the room.

 _OK. Two plus the one I've just frozen. Leaves two at least..._

She put the fire-extinguisher aside and freed Mickey and Rose after she had taken care of the two robots. Thankfully it was the same switch for opening and closing the manacles.

"What's going on?" Rose asked, clearly still a bit dazed.

"We're getting out of here," Mira replied.

She helped them up and was about to shove them out of the room, just as four more of these robots materialised right between them and the door.

 _Four? That's not fair._

The other two were also clicking suspiciously now, as if waking up again every moment.

"All right, you stay behind me. No discussions," she said quietly to Rose and Mickey as she picked up her 'weapon'.

The droids on the other hand extended their blades.

"They're gonna chop us up. Just like the crew - they're gonna chop us up and stick us all over their stupid spaceship," Mickey whispered behind her back.

"No one's going to chop up anyone," she said to him without taking her eyes of the droids.

"Where's the Doctor? Where's the precious Doctor now? He's been gone for flipping hours, that's where he is!" Mickey continued.

"You are compatible," sounded the soulless voice of one of the robots.

"You will go out of my way," Mira replied calmly. Of course they didn't obey.

 _All right, you had your chance._

The first one froze, and even a second one before the others started to move towards them. But then, as she was aiming for the third one... Nothing. Empty.

"Oh... Well." Change of plans then. Without any indication of being about to do so, she suddenly threw the fire-extinguisher right at the two robots that were standing next to the door.

"Run!" she yelled as the robots were falling to the floor and shattering into a thousand pieces.

They almost made it. The remaining two unfrozen droids were too slow, and the frozen ones not yet fully recovered. But sometimes just everything goes wrong. There must be some sort of unlimited supply of them, she thought highly annoyed as two more materialised right in their way.

Mira suddenly stopped with Rose bumping into her back.

All six robots were now approaching, their blades pointing towards their necks.

"Well... you... you might wanna think about that. You really, really might because... me, Mickey and Mira.. we didn't come here alone, oh no! And trust me - you wouldn't wanna mess with our designated driver," Rose was playing for time whilst the robots were encircling them.

"Ever heard of the Daleks? Remember them? They had a name for our friend. They had myths about him, and a name. They called him the...," she continued only to be interrupted by a loud bang and someone singing.

It sounded suspiciously like.. No. Not possible.

"They called him the.. they called him the.. the...," Rose tried to finish what she was about to say, as the singing grew louder.

 _Is he drunk?_

A moment later Mira could clearly see for herself. He staggered into the room, still singing, his tie around his head, sunglasses on his nose, and a glass of wine in his hand.

"Well, there's a time and place for everything," she greeted him icily.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

Right after Mira, Rose and Mickey were gone he had asked Reinette if he could look into her mind, to find out what the robots were looking for. Well, that hadn't been his exact words, but as he had expected it, Reinette didn't shy away from him. Even though it must almost seem like witchcraft to here, for she was a woman of the 18th century. She even seemed to like it in some way. And not only that. He wasn't too sure how it had happened, and at first he hadn't noticed it, but somehow she did end up in his head. He had only realised it because she had started to call him 'Doctor'. He hadn't felt her presence in his mind. Most likely she hadn't been in his head at all, and he had just shown her all these things subconsciously, brought them with him somehow, but he wasn't too sure about that.

First of all, he had been shocked. What else had she seen? Then he had seen the sympathy in her eyes. Sympathy for things he would never tell anyone.

And now this incredible woman had just been able to see them, almost like he used to communicate with his own people. No need for words. (Well, they actually had talked to each other. But not because they _had_ to, as humans did.) And instead of being afraid she had wanted to comfort him now. He knew that he shouldn't go with her, that it was wrong in any possible way.

For a moment he thought about Mira. She would have resisted in his stead, wouldn't she? On the other hand, she had chosen to stay in the TARDIS, although she had said she probably shouldn't. So, why should he show more consistence than someone who was over six-hundred years older than him? And above all, it was him who was constantly telling the people around him that they should live a little.

 **...**

The first thing he noticed as he found the Rose, Mira and Mickey were the gears of two of the droids shattered around. Second thing was Mira shooting him a deadly glance. "Well, there's a time and place for everything," she said to him.

"Yeah. And so is for vandalism,", he replied whilst stepping over the remains of the robots. "Have you met the French? My... _God_ , they know how to party." he continued. It really had been a hell of a party. And yes, he was drunk. So what? He could change that in no time, unlike humans could.

"Oh, look at what the cat dragged in. The Oncoming Storm." Rose said sarcastically. They were all encircled by six of these robots. The droids didn't move, obviously trying to process the whole situation.

"Oh, you sound just like your mother," he replied whilst eyeing a control panel. What was going on with Rose today? All right, now her behaviour wasn't totally unjustified, but he had made it in time, hadn't he?

"What've you been doing? Where've you been?!" Rose asked crossly.

"Well... among other things, I think just invented the banana daiquiri a few centuries early." He was walking through the little crowd of droids now. They watched him, but didn't do anything.

"Do you know, they've never even seen a banana before!" He stopped in front of Rose. "Always take a banana to a party, Rose. Bananas are _good_." He turned to Mira. She didn't say a thing. She was just staring at him. He almost flinched as he saw the look in her eyes. He wasn't even sure what he saw in them. It was a glance as cold as ice and utterly relentless. Right now he would have absolutely denied that he had ever seen anything remotely like fear in them. But most of all, her glance was calm. Dangerously calm.

 _Ouch._

He decided to turn his attention to the droids, if only to avoid her glance, because she surely wasn't in for looking away first.

"Oh ho ho ho ho, brilliant. It's you! You're my favourite, you are, you are the best! Do you know why? 'Cause you're so _thick_. You're Mister Thick Thick Thickity Thick Face from Thicktown, Thickania," he spat at one of the droids and walked away, just to turned around once more. "And so's your dad," he added.

"Do you know what they were scanning Reinette's brain for?" he added after a moment of consideration whilst still strolling through the room, speaking to no one in particular.

"Her milometer. They wanna know how old she is. Know why? 'Cause this ship is thirty-seven years old. And they think that when Reinette is thirty-seven, when she's 'complete', then her brain will be compatible. So, that's what you're missing, isn't it?" He paused to stare at one of the droids. "Hmm? Command circuit. Your computer. Your ship needs a brain. And for some reason - God knows what - only the brain of Madame de Pompadour will do."

"The brain is compatible," one of the droids said.

"Compatible?" He approached the droid that had just spoken.

"If you believe that, you probably believe this is a glass of wine." He removed the mask from the droid's head and poured the contents of the wineglass on it. After that he put the mask back on again and patted it on the head. After a moment the droid stopped moving, his head bending down.

"Multigrain anti-oil. If it moves, it doesn't," he said, now in his normal tone and being sober again.

The other droids began to come closer, but he shut them down by pulling a nearby lever.

"Time we got the rest of the ship turned off," he said. Rose and Mickey seemed clearly relieved, but Mira was still looking somehow icily at him. Not as bad as she just did, but still icily.

"Are those things safe?" Mickey asked.

"Yep. Safe. Safe and thick. Way I like them. Okay, all the time windows are controlled from here. I need to close them all down," he answered as he put the sunglasses away and pulled down his tie.

"Zeus plugs. Where are my Zeus plugs?" he wondered as he felt in his pockets for them. "I had them a minute ago, I was using them as castanets."

"Why didn't they just open a time window to when she was thirty-seven?" Rose asked, ignoring his mumbling.

"With the amount of damage to these circuits, they'll be lucky to hit the right century. Trial and error after that," he replied whilst trying to operate the computer. "The windows aren't closing. Why won't they close?" he wondered as a pinging sound started.

"What's that?" Mira asked. She was now standing next to him, eyeing the console he was working on. He turned his head to her. She still seemed somehow angry. No, not angry. It was something else. But what?

"I don't know... incoming message?" he answered.

"From who?" she asked in return.

"Report from the field... one of them must still be out there with Reinette! That's why I can't close the windows, there's an override!" he suddenly got it.

Behind him, one of the droids suddenly sprung to life. It was the one with the oil in his brain. A moment later the droid had expelled it over his shoe.

"Well, that was a bit clever," he murmured. Now the rest of the robots sprung to life as well.

"Right... many things about this are not good,"

"That's the understatement of the century," Mira said, just as the pinging started again.

"Message from one of your little friends? Anything interesting?" he asked them.

"She is complete. It begins."

That was the last they heard of the robots before they teleported away.

* * *

 _AxidentIGoddess: Thanks for your kind review. :-) I'm really trying to give Rose's jealousy some background and not just have her bitching around because she wants to. :-) _

_time-twilight, alwaystherereading and 10th Squad 3rd Seat: Thank you for the feeback :-) _


	14. Chapter 14 - The Girl in the Fireplace 3

**Chapter XIV**

 _Mira's POV_

She watched the droids vanish. That could only mean one thing, couldn't it? They had found her. She was 'complete', as the Doctor had just explained.

"One of them must've found the right time window, and now it's time to send in the troops. And this time they're bringing back her head," the Doctor spoke out what she was thinking. "Rose, Mickey: Go look for Reinette. Find a new time window when she is older than she was whilst meeting the King. Tell her what's about to happen. That she has to be careful, and that I will be there to help her."

"But...," Rose tried to say something.

"Go! We don't have much time. Hurry!"

Rose glanced at the Doctor for a bit longer, then she went off with Mickey in her trail. Mira was about to follow them, as she heard his voice behind her.

"Mira, I need you with me. We have to locate the right time window. Looking around the ship would take too long, but maybe I can work something out with the ship's computer-systems." He rushed back to the room where the TARDIS was standing and she followed him. Once there, he handed her this ominous, multi-purpose scanning device.

"What's that anyway?" she asked.

"A Sonic Screwdriver. Just switch it on and scan the room. The walls, everything. These windows are somehow controlled by the main control panel here. With your readings I might be able to find it. They're somehow hiding it. I guess that it might be in this room somewhere."

She looked sceptically at the little device and pressed the small button on its side. It sprung to live with the blue glow on its tip and the buzzing noise it always seemed to produce.

"Bloody hell!" She almost dropped it. Suddenly all sort of information flooded her brain. Readings of energy signatures all across the room, information about the materials used and the composure of the air in here. Well, at least she guessed that from the pictures she was seeing. There were also signs, just as the ones on the Post Its in the TARDIS.

"What?" he asked as he fiddled with the control panel. He had a puzzled expression on his face as he looked up to her.

"I... just wasn't expecting that," she said absently as she was trying to sort out all this information. She soon gave up, it was just too much. But she managed to push it aside a bit, so that it wasn't that overwhelming any more.

"Telepathic field." he said cheerfully with a big grin. "Just like the TARDIS. Oh, you're brilliant!"

"Why didn't I notice that before?" she asked and began walking through the room. The information in her head changed, depending on where she pointed this... Screwdriver.

 _Screwdriver? Really?_

"You need to touch it, obviously. I don't. Now hurry, there's not much time!"

She did as he told. She had always wondered how he could get any information out of this device without it having any screen. She had thought about the sound that differed a bit, but she hadn't expected that his technology was based on telepathy that much.

 _Oh well, anyway. Just get this done, hopefully save Reinette's life and then have a few words with him. Mission first, as always._

They were working in silence for a few minutes until she finally pointed the Sonic on the right spot.

"That's it!" he yelled. She also felt it. Well, at least that it was something different. Still too much information at once for her to make much out of it.

He pulled some switches on the control panel before he walked over to her. She handed him back the Sonic rather gladly. It had been interesting, but also quite confusing. After a few more moments the window appeared right in front of them. They could see into a ballroom. A ballroom full of people, Reinette standing there and.. The droids. An awful lot of them. Right at this moment Rose and Mickey came back.

"I don't get it. How come they got in there? " Rose asked.

"Rose... They teleported - you saw them. As long as the ship and the ballroom are linked, their short-range teleports will do the trick," he answered.

"Well, we'll go in the TARDIS!" Rose said now.

"We can't use the TARDIS, we're part of events now.," the Doctor said desperately whilst he was hurrying around the room, working on the computers.

"Well, can't we just smash through it?" Mickey asked.

"Hyperplex this side, plate glass the other. We need a truck." the Doctor answered.

"We don't have a truck," Mickey replied.

"I know we don't have a truck!" Now the Doctor was shouting.

Mira looked around. Nothing useful. Maybe they could use some of the teleport devices from the two droids she had destroyed earlier. But there was hardly any time left to get them...

"Well, we've gotta try something!" Rose threw in.

"No, smash the glass, smash the time window, they'd be no way back.", the Doctor said, suddenly very quiet. Rose just stared at him in disbelief. So did Mira. What was he up to now?

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

Arthur. The horse just walked in at the right moment. Who needed a truck if he could have a horse?

"Madame de Pompadour. You look younger every day," he greeted Reinette with a smile on his face after he had jumped through the mirror on Arthur's back.

"What the hell is going on?" the King demanded to know.

"Oh - this is my lover, the King of France," Reinette said to him as he hopped of the horse.

"Yeah? Well, I'm the Lord of Time," he said with a slightly distastefully expression on his face whilst he was walking by the King towards the robots. "And I'm here to fix the clock." He removed the mask from the droid's head, to reveal its true nature to the people around him. They were gasping as they looked at the mechanical being. The droid immediately pointed its weapon at him.

"Forget it. It's over. For you and for me," the Doctor said calmly as he glanced up to the broken mirror. Behind it was just solid wall. He was trapped. "Talk about seven years bad luck. Try three thousand...," he realised as the droid also turned his head to the mirror. Right after that it tried the teleport on his wrist. It looked a bit desperate, almost human, as the robot was hitting the switch several times without anything happening.

"The link with the ship is broken. No way back. You don't have the parts. How many ticks left in that clockwork heart? A day? An hour? It's over. Accept that. I'm not winding you up," the Doctor said quietly to the robot. Finally, the clockwork wound down, the distance between the clicks grew longer until it finally stopped. The heads of all the droids dropped down, one of them even fell backwards to the floor, shattering like the ones he had seen back on the ship. This had been Miras work, he guessed. Suddenly the feeling of doubt flooded over him. He really should have given it a second thought. On the other hand, he had made a promise to Reinette.

He turned to Reinette who was still kneeling on the floor.

"You all right?" he asked as he hold out his hand to her. She nodded at him, took his hand and let im pull her to her feet.

"What's happened to them?", she wondered.

"They've stopped. They have no purpose now." He was staring at the broken mirror again, now with Reinette at his side. Three-thousand years. That was a long time, even for him. He thought about his companions. They wouldn't have to wait that long, he planned to find a way back to his TARDIS right after the moment he jumped through the mirror. He had no idea how he would make it, but he had enough time to come up with a plan...

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

She stared at the wall where the time window had been. It was gone. As was the Doctor. He had just jumped through it, although he had known exactly that there would be no way back. How could he do that? Leave her alone just like that. Of course, there was the TARDIS, and she had already flown her once, but that had been different.

"We can't fly the TARDIS without him. How's he gonna get back?" she heard Mickeys voice. She turned her head and saw him standing right next to her. On her other side, two steps away, Mira was standing.

She just shrugged. How should she know?

"He has three thousand years to make it back," Mira said. "In fact, he could be here any minute."

Rose looked at her furiously. "Oh yeah. That's so simple, isn't it?"

"It is," Mira sighed. "Of course I don't know anything about his life-expectancy, but if he can live that long, he has a good chance to get back to us. It's dammed three thousand years. Twice my lifetime. All he has to do is to wait for the development of space-travel on Earth and then find a ship and make it over six point twenty-five million light-years, give or take."

"You really must think you're so clever. Able to explain everything." she said, now clearly annoyed.

"I'm just saying that it's not impossible. And after all what I've seen of you so far, I really thought you have a little more trust in him," Mira answered.

"He abandoned us!"

"Yes he did. For now. But we have a whole space-ship here. And we have the TARDIS. Even if we can't fly her, she might have some spare parts stored somewhere for us. Then we can try to fix the radio, for a start, and call for help. Or maybe get the TARDIS to do that. What's it with humanity in this universe? Losing hope so fast?" Mira said.

"Doesn't sound that bad, Rose, does it?" Mickey asked her. He had grabbed her hand by now.

"Great. Not you too, Mickey."

 **…**

They were waiting for longer than five hours now. So much for 'any minute'. Mira had strolled off to have a look at the rest of the ship, mainly at the engines and the radio equipment, as she had told them. And to search for a technical manual. Seriously? Should you be flying a space-ship at all if you'r not able to do so without a manual? Mira had just shook her head and murmured something of complexity and check-lists and schematics. Then she had even asked her if she could look for something like that in the TARDIS. No way. She knew that the old time ship normally wouldn't go anywhere without the Doctor on board.

Mira had returned by now, with a bunch of semi-transparent plastic sheets in her hands. She was now sitting with her back against the TARDIS and studying them. She even had offered some of them to her with ostentation, but she hadn't taken them. What for? The Doctor would return. He would never leave her like that. At least that was what she had believed until now. She thought she knew him. And now this.

She leaned against Mickey, who was sitting next to her. He had been really quiet for the last couple of hours. At least he wasn't following Mira.

Suddenly she heard a voice from the room with the fireplace in it. She jumped up and ran through the door to the other room, followed by Mickey and Mira. There he was, crouching in front of the fireplace.

"Doctor!" she yelled and he turned around, only to give her a tight hug. He did come back. He really did.

"How long did you wait?" he asked.

"Five and a half hours!"

"Right, always wait five and a half hours," he told and let go of her and then turned to Mira. But something seemed to stop him from hugging her as well.

"I'm glad your back," the other woman said with her arm crossed.

 _Oh,_ now _you're pissed?_

"Yeah, so am I," he said and turned to Mickey. Instead of hugging him, he just shook his hand.

"Where've you been?" she demanded to know.

"Explain later. Into the TARDIS, be with you in a sec," he just said. As they were walking back to the TARDIS she looked over her shoulder and saw how he turned to the fireplace again.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She waited in the console room with Rose and Mickey, wondering what the Doctor was up to now. There were still some topics she had to talk about with him, and she was planning on doing so as soon as they were alone. First, the situation with Rose. She doubted that the girl would listen to her, so either he would talk some sense into Rose, or he would never leave her alone with Rose and expecting of her to take care of Rose's safty again. Second, his behaviour. Attending a party whilst she was with two kids on a ship, hunting some robots? That had definitely been over the top. Way over the top. And the stunt he had performed through the window? She could somehow understand that, but she definitely needed to hear his version of it. Just to get a grasp of his behaviour in these situations.

Finally, the door opened. But at the moment she saw him, she rejected her plan. Something had happened. She could tell it from the way he was closing the door and walking over to the console without saying a word. All of his enthusiasm was gone. His steps were somehow heavy. All in all he was behaving just like someone who had gotten a really bad message.

"Why her?" Rose asked somehow out of nowhere.

He didn't answer. From everything she had seen from him for now, that would have been a keyword to give some really detailed explanations. But there was just silence.

"Why did they think they could fix the ship with the head of Madame de Pompadour?" Rose tried it again.

"We'll probably never know. There was massive damage in the computer memory base. Probably got confused." he answered as if he had to force himself to speak. "The TARDIS can close down the time windows now the droids are gone. Should stop it causing any more trouble."

He started to work on the console, but it seemed as if he wasn't in it at all.

"Are you all right?" Even Rose noticed it.

"I'm always all right," he said and made an attempt to smile. It was as if looking into a mirror for Mira. Yeah. All right. Sure you are. She had behaved in that way herself, countless times. She just wondered why he was lying to Rose in that way. Was it just because Mickey and she herself were here right now? Even Rose obviously didn't expect that. Mira could sense the feelings of disbelief and being rejected coming from her.

"Come on, Rose. It's time you showed me around the rest of this place." Mickey said to her. Point for Mickey, she thought. The Doctor obviously wanted to be alone now. She looked at him for a few moments after Mickey and Rose had left the console room, but he was just fiddling with some switches, so she left too.

At first she was heading to her room, thinking about what might have happened. Something with Reinette? But he had saved her, hadn't he? She desperately tried to remember what had happened to Madame de Pompadour in her own universe. She had known it. She basically knew the whole history of humanity, it had been hammered into her head in some sort of hypnotic procedure they had adapted from the Arkons. But that was just plain knowledge. You have to use it and think about it on your own, or you would forget it. And when had she ever thought about the history of France? Back at home she would have just looked it up in some positronic library.

 _Library!_

So now she headed for the library. She didn't have to look through the shelves for long until she found a lexicon. An actual lexicon from Earth, printed in 1974.

And then she saw it. Reinette died at the age of only forty-three. When the Doctor had saved her from the droids, she had already been thirty-seven. Given the change in the speed of time between the ship and France... He had wanted to see her again. Maybe even asked her to come along.

She sighed and put the book back on the shelve. Even the TARDIS appeared to be sad, she realised as she stood in thoughts for a moment. All right, maybe he really needed some time alone. He hadn't even talked to Rose. What could she herself do for him? They hardly knew each other. Well, it wasn't exactly that simple, but nevertheless. She left the library and was heading back to her room. As she stood in front of the door, she hesitated for a moment. He had looked so sad. Just like she had felt for so often. She knew how hard, almost impossible it had been for her to ask someone to just be there. And how grateful she had been if one of her friends or her father had ignored all her attempts to sort it out for herself. Not that sorting it out on her own didn't work, but it was just so exhausting.

At least she could see what he was doing. Maybe she was wrong and he was back to normal, then she could at least bring up everything else.

As she entered the console room, the TARDIS was in flight-mode and he had just hung his cloak over one of the columns.

He looked up and the sadness in his eyes hadn't become any less. He immediately tried to smile. "So, this was France, eh?"

"She died?" she asked, ignoring his attempts to pretend that everything was back to normal. Suddenly his face fell.

"Mira...I.. Yes." he said, rubbing his eyebrows and turning to the console.

What was going on? How long had he known her? For a day? How close did they get? She really had been a fascinating woman, but...

 _Wait. How long did he really stay in France?_

Instead of saying anything, she stepped over to him and leaned against the console so that she could look at his face. What was there to say anyway? That she was sorry? Had that really helped anyone ever? To her it was little more than a flowery phrase. Maybe because she knew how often people were just saying it without any deeper meaning.

He was now leaning on the console with both hands. She put her hand over his and gave it a slight squeeze. Suddenly he freed himself, walked a few steps and turned around to face her again.

"It's just.. I promised her to come back. She waited. For the rest of her life. She even wrote me a letter. And I..." He turned his back to her again.

 _So that's what it's all about. Or at least a part of it._

Suddenly it hit her. What had Brother Lassa said about his people? They were all but extinct. Was it really true? Was he the last of his kind? How incredibly lonely he must feel.

"Hey. You did what you could," she said gently and put her hands on his shoulders. As he turned around again she pulled him towards her and into an embrace. At first she could feel him stiffening, but after a second he returned it, laying his chin on her shoulder. "I know how that feels," she whispered into his ears. And this wasn't just a flowery phrase, not for her. She had left people behind, people that had hoped to see her again and so had she in return, but for some reasons she hadn't made it in time. That was how things went sometimes. It was cruel and painful, but even how hard you try, sometimes it wasn't meant to be and you had to live with it.

She could feel his cheek on hers. It was a little bit colder as she would have expected it with another human, but not that much. And she could feel how he leaned into her embrace and she closed her eyes. And their was something else. The psychic field around him, that she had already noticed earlier. That very field she wanted to stay away from. But now she found that she had somehow gotten into it. She couldn't even say when it had happened.

She wasn't just an empath. She had a real high psychic potential, but it was all somehow raw. You need to be able to modulate all these energy into telepathy or telecinetics or whatever there was.

There was another thing she could do besides the empathy. She could see the psychic fields of others. Of course she didn't see them literally. She was able to tune into them, just as if focusing her eyes on something, and then reinforce them, neutralise them or even use them independently. She really was a great reinforcement to the other mutants back in her universe, but she couldn't do much on her own. She had learned to control it, but she used it more or less all the time subconsciously when she was around other psychic people. Preventing other telepaths from getting into her head, for example.

All of a sudden she did not only feel his physical presence. Not only his skin on hers, but also the presence of his mind against her own. It was as gentle as the touch of a feather on her skin. Tingling on the edges of her consciousness. It hadn't been her intention at all, but there it was. She also wasn't willing to pull herself out of it. Not really, even though she knew she should. It was as if she had lived in a world of grey and now suddenly gotten a glimpse of a sunset. It was a quite accurate comparison. She _was_ different to most of the other humans. At first she had struggled with her psychic abilities, but then she had come to embrace them. She really had enjoyed the telepathic conversations she'd had with Gucky and the other telepathic mutants she knew. It was a so utterly different way to communicate. To show yourself and see the other. And she was already missing it.

It was a mutual contact, she could feel that, but he also made no attempt to end it. They just stood there, captivated in that moment, not daring to move, neither physically nor mentally. As if waiting for the other to take a step further or back. Their contact was only skin-deep, just enough to feel each others consciousness. There were no thoughts or anything like it. His mind was hardly like anything she had ever felt. He was so alien, the presence of his mind was dark and bright at the same time, ancient, flowing around her like a breeze from times long gone and yet to come. And yet, despite all these foreignness, this way of being close to someone felt so familiar to her.

But suddenly something pulled her out of it, as if a bucket of ice-water had been poured over her head.

"Rose said there..." she heard a voice. She twitched, just as if waking up from sleep with the feeling of falling and gasped. He let go of her instantly and she took a hasty step backwards.

"...is a swimming-pool somewhere..."

She looked at the Doctor's face. He looked also a bit startled, but not half as shocked as she herself felt. This time it had really been close to a heart attack. She was shivering all over and her heart was thumbing like mad, as she turned her head. Mickey.

"Dammit! Don't sneak up on people like that! Do you want to kill me?" she snapped at him with a shaky voice. She was even close to tears now due to the shock. She really had forgotten everything around her for that moment. Plus, she always had been a _bit_ jumpy, but on the other hand, you just don't sneak up on someone like that when..

Yeah, when... What the hell was she doing? At least not sticking to her intentions of keeping herself out of... _everything_ that was going on here. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down a bit. She was now holding on to one of the coral pillars with one hand.

"Mira, you're all right?" she heard the Doctor and felt his hand on her upper arm. She turned her head to him and could see concern written all over his face. Oh great. No way in pretending. They both knew what had just happened. She couldn't even say who had started it. Had it been her?

"I'm fine.", she said wilfully, still trying to gather herself. She turned her head to Mickey, who just stood there, mouth opened, and obviously having no idea of what was going on.

"I'm sorry," he finally said.

He might not have any idea of what really had happened, but she had no doubt that he would tell it to Rose at the first opportunity. And rub it in. Just as he did with Cleo and Sarah Jane.

"Oh, now I'm getting it. You two were kissing!" Mickey exclaimed smirkingly.

"No!" the Doctor and Mira said simultaneously.

 _Great. Suspicious behaviour at its best._

"Yeah. Sure." Mickey smiled knowingly and strolled of.

Mira stared after him for a moment before walking off to follow him.

"What are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" She turned around and faced the Doctor. "Damage Control! That's what I am doing." He just stared at her with one of _these_ looks in his eyes.

 _Oh, just stop it._

She was about to turn around again, as she realised something.

"Where is the pool?"

"The pool? Just through the library, there's a door..."

"Thanks!" She replied and finally ran after Mickey, feeling the Doctor's glance in her back.

* * *

 _So, final chapter of Girl in the Fireplace. I struggled a bit with it, because parts of it were really hard to write in a language that's not your native language, especially the part in the TARDIS. I hope it makes sense nevertheless._

 _One other thing: I had a two week's holiday, but from tomorrow on I'm back at work and have less time for writing. I'm aiming for updating twice a week, though, but I can't promise anything. (Well, ok, at least once a week I can promise ;-) )_

 _10th Squad 3rd Seat: I guess because he had seen different sides of Rose so far. Behaving like that is not defining her complete personality, at least for him, I think. But yes, even he won't watch her behaving like that forever ;-)_

 _VampinGina : Thanks for your comment. I hope you like the rest of the story as well :-)_

 _time-twilight : There is a good chance for this to happen ;-)_


	15. Chapter 15 - Confrontations

**Chapter XV**

 _Doctor's POV_

He had braced himself as Mira showed up in the console room again. He had seen that it was bubbling beneath the surface in her ever since his 'trip' to France, even though she had carried it off well back on the space-ship. Well, she was with the military, and for this clearly used to separate her feelings from the things that had to be done. Or it was simply due to her age. No matter which was the case, he was grateful for it. It was more than enough with Rose behaving like she did during the last days.

But instead of giving him a real telling-off (what he somehow deserved, he had to admit that), she had just looked at him. He hadn't wanted to talk about it in the first place, but as he had seen all the understanding and sympathy in her face, he'd just had to tell her.

And then she hugged him. At first it felt weird – it wasn't a hug as the ones he gave people so often in his latest regeneration. It was a comforting, supportive embrace. And he leaned into it. Just for a moment, so he was thinking. But then, something happened. He didn't know how it started or who of them did so, but suddenly there she was, gently plucking and nudging at his mind. It was completely different than the contact had been he just had with Reinette. That was – despite everything Reinette had seen – one-sided. But now he felt a psychic presence nuzzling against his own consciousness, touching his senses in a way as he hadn't felt it for quite a while now.

He didn't dare to do anything, although he was sure she was also aware of it. He just looked at her mind. He wasn't really inside it, he just touched the surface.

And it was wonderful. She was fragile and at the same time there was a strength to her, which was just amazing. Now he could clearly see _how_ old she was. Her mind was all shades of blue, from the darkest night blue to the bright and burning blue of a hot star. It was heavy like dark clouds over an endless ocean and at the same time light as a snowflake in the cold winter's air.

He could have done this for some time – just staying there, holding her in his arms (well, to be precise: She was holding him) – and just looking at her in that way and finding comfort in her presence.

But, of course, Mickey had to bump in, giving Mira probably the shock of her lifetime. Yeah, they were kissing. Right, Mickey. And before he could hold her back, she was running after Mickey. Damage Control she said. Well, it was really high time for that, he was afraid so. As he stood and watched after her, he tried to sort out what had just happened.

 _Mira._

What a name for her. Besides that it obviously meant 'peace' in various Slavic languages, it was also related to the Latin word for 'wondrous' or 'wonderful'. There also was an oscillating, variable binary star named that way by the humans. It had gotten its name around 1638 due to the fact that it didn't behave like any other observed star at that time. It was changing in its magnitude in a somehow unpredictable way, sometimes even vanishing from sight completely. And her behaviour was not less contradictory and unpredictable to him than the behaviour of that star had been to the astronomers back in the 17th century.  
At one time she showed a composure and self-security that was almost unbelievable, at other times she was so agitated and nervous that she was visibly shaking.  
Of course, the self-security could just be a facade to hide behind as so many humans (and not only humans) used to do. But he somehow knew that this wasn't the case with her. She actually seemed to have all these conflicting traits to her personality. It was the same as for her behaviour towards him. Back in the sickbay he had almost been able to see the wall she had build around herself. And now they had that sort of mental contact. It might have been just coincidence, yet she hadn't done anything to end it.

During all his considerations he had deliberately ignored the mental pushes the TARDIS was giving him. He knew for himself that there was a lot to work out around here, starting with Rose and Mickey, and he also feared that Mira had not forgotten about his behaviour back on the space-ship.

He reached for the console and had just put his finger on one of the small switches that were scattered all over it, as he was hit by an electric shock. The second one in not only two weeks. At least this time there had been no sparks.

"What's now?" he whined, looking around in the room. "Is this going to become a habit?" Well, actually it already had become one. He knew he could ignore her mental nagging up to a certain degree, but she also had other ways of expressing herself.

 _You really are poorly maintained!_

Normally, if they were properly maintained, TARDISes weren't supposed to behave like that. Of course he knew that this was only his fault, because it was his job and his alone to care for and maintain her now. And generally he really loved his old girl, loved her exactly as she was. She was literally a part of him. But that didn't have to mean that they were always in complete agreement.

He eyed the console suspiciously, still rubbing his hand. "There are humans on board, you know? Do you want to electrocute them? You know how they are, touching everything," he tried to persuade her as he cautiously reached out for the console again. Just before his hand touched it he stopped. He could feel that she was about doing it again.

"Fine!" he gave up. "But if things get even more messed up, it's your fault!"

He hated it. He really did. All this fighting, with him somehow caught in the middle, even being the cause for it. He honestly thought that Rose had gotten everything right. How could she not? Then Sarah Jane showed up. And, even though he had told Rose that he would never leave her behind, she was still acting out like crazy. He had explained it to her as good as he was able to. But obviously she neither could nor wanted to trust him with that. He shot a disapproving look at the console before he reluctantly left the room. First Mira., if only to get through his well earned trouble.

 **...**

He caught up with her as she was just closing the door to her room from the inside.

"Mira, wait." he said and grabbed the door handle.

"What?" She said as she opened the door again, just enough to look at him. He tried to read in her face, but he couldn't find any hint about her thoughts in it. But there was one other thing. He could clearly feel the mental walls she had build around her mind once more. All right, maybe low level psychic hadn't been that accurate. He could almost physically feel them now.

"Any success? With your... Damage Control?" he asked, struggling to give his voice at least a hint of casualness.

"For now." She said. Oh well, she clearly wasn't in for making conversation.

"Meaning?"

"He won't tell Rose anything. He means it. As long as he's not changing his mind because he's Mickey, or because of some post-puberty hormone rush, or because Rose is interrogating him..."

"Mira, I'm so sorry. I really am," he said in an attempt to not make it any worse.

She just stared at him without saying anything, eyebrows raised and anticipation in her face.

"Mira, I said I'm so..." he tried it again after a few moments.

"Sorry for what?"

Now it was on him to stare at her, his brows furrowed, eyes wide and clearly not getting her point. "What?"

"I want to hear what you are apologising for. Because you can say sorry as much as you like. As long as I don't hear from you what you're thinking you're apologising for - and thus proving that you're actually getting what you _might_ have done wrong - just saying sorry is pretty worthless to me."

"I..." All right. She might be a _tiny_ bit beyond angry. But what did she want to hear? Just the things that had happened on that space-ship? Or even about their contact in the console room? Well, at least for the latter he definitely wouldn't apologise.

"Come in." She said. "No need for any more eavesdropping or something like that."

She shoved the door open further so that he could enter the room. It was a rather nice room he came to notice, functional and yet somehow cosy. In one corner were a round table and two chairs, on the walls were a chest of drawers, racks and a closet. A few books were on the racks as well as some decorative objects. The bed was covered by a soft looking blanket in a dark petrol colour and matching cushions. The furniture and the walls consisted of some light grey, plastic-like material as if the whole room was part of a prefabricated kit, ready to be put together anywhere.

He focused on Mira again who was leaning against the closet now.

"I'm sorry for the party. I guess I shouldn't have left the three of you alone for so long. I...," he began to speak.

"Stop it."she said quietly as she walked over to the bed and sat down on it. She somehow looked as if she was tired of this whole situation. He was still standing next to the – now closed – door, his hands in his pockets and looking back and forth between her and his shoes. In her eyes he could see the weird calmness from before again.

 _Quiet before the storm..._

"It's not that dammed party what's the problem. If it was for me, you could have stayed there for another two days. I learned to take care of myself a long time ago." He could almost hear a hint of bitterness in her voice now.

"Then what is it?"

"You left me alone with two KIDS on a space-ship full of robots!" she exploded. She jumped up and gesticulated angrily. "Have you any idea what could have happened to them? Did you even give a god dammed thought about what might have been there? Besides a HORDE of robots? Like automated defence systems, energy shields to fry yourself in, unsecured wireless power transmissions, automated security hatches to crush someone, and hundreds of other things that even I would have overlooked? But at least I KNOW not to TOUCH anything and how to move around CAREFULLY, that's how I've managed to survive for one and a half millennia!"

"I..."

"Shut it! I'm far from finished," she interrupted him harshly.

He winced and instantly closed his mouth. There was something in her voice that made it very clear that he should better listen now.

"I have no idea what exactly is going on between you and Rose. I don't know what you are thinking and what she knows. And you know what? I DON`T BLOODY CARE! Just fix it! Talk some sense into her. Either she listens to me the next time you leave us alone, or I won't guarantee for her safety. And if something happens to her or Mickey, it's on YOUR conscience, not on MINE!" she yelled.

"Mira. You..." he made another attempt to speak. She was right. It really had been risky this time. He just had gotten caught up in the middle of the events somehow. And above that, he hadn't expected that it was that bad with Rose. "... are not finished yet." he added as he saw the look in her eyes.

"No. I have no problem if you leave like that. But then make sure that Rose listens to me. I would have sent them back into the TARDIS and everything would have been fine. But not with her running about and openly trying to sabotage me and risking her LIFE whilst doing so!" Even though her voice had been relatively calm at the beginning of this sentence, at its end she was now again yelling at him.

"I really didn't want to tell you that right _now_. Not after what happened to Reinette. After what we've just...What.. Never mind. I'm afraid there wouldn't have been any other opportunity before we're stumbling into the next trouble. And if Mickey tells her what he _thinks_ he saw, then I don't know what Rose will do next."

"May I now..."

"Oh, and as for the time window: Have you at least given a thought about that? What would have been if you won't make it back? I have no doubts that we would have found a way off that ship. But what then? Rose and Mickey trapped three thousand years into their own future? With everyone they had ever known dead for ages? Have you ever thought about _that_?"

Well, no. He hadn't thought about it in that way. He hadn't doubted that he would have been able to get back to the ship, back to his TARDIS and to somehow put everything right again. But now as she was confronting him with it... It could have gone wrong. Horribly wrong.

"I... Mira. I'm so sorry," he started and he saw the anger flashing in her eyes again. "I mean, no, I haven't thought about it in that way. But I made a promise to Reinette." he hurried to clarify it.

"You also made one to Rose and Mickey by bringing them with you, didn't you?" Now he could clearly see rather pain than anger in her eyes. "To bring them home again, not to leave them far away from their own time and their home."

"Far away from their own time just like you 'missed' some years?" he asked quietly. He remembered that there were some gaps in her own history. Something around six-hundred and fifty years all together. He could see how startled she looked for a moment, before she gathered herself.

 _Hit the mark._

"That's not the point here," she visibly forced herself to say. "It's mainly about Rose's behaviour."

"I didn't know that Rose was acting out like that," he decided to let go of Mira's 'missed years' for now. "I just don't know what's gotten into her. I mean, she knows..." He looked at her face for a sign that she would understand what he was about to say.

"Knows what?"

"Well. I mean, why she's behaving like... she is behaving."

"Go on..."

"She's... She's not jealous, is she?"

"Wow! Finally! You got it."

"Mira..."

"Sorry." She sat down on the bed again, her head resting in her hands with her elbows on her knees. After a moment he sat next to her, staring straight ahead.

"You really need to talk to her," Mira said eventually and turned her head to face him. He also turned his head and eyed her carefully. No more anger in her face. Good. The last thing he wanted right now was another outburst of fury from her, however justified it might be.

"Why? She knows what's between us."

"Does she? Have you ever told her?"

"No. Not really, but.."

"Then how should she? She's not a telepath. She can't look into your head. Apart from that, I honestly doubt that she would believe it, even if she could see for herself."

"But... Why wouldn't she believe it?"

"Oh for god's sake!", she yelled, causing him to flinch. "She really is mature for her age. Handling all this really well, I mean: You, your TARDIS, all these weird things you constantly stumble into. But apart from that, she's just nineteen. She's insecure like hell when it comes to herself and to you. Or any other guy she would fall for. And even if you would tell her every second that nothing will ever come between the two of you, she still wouldn't be able to believe it. To _trust_ in it. That's why she just can't stand me. Why she couldn't stand Sarah in the first place. But after all, she didn't saw her as a current threat. She was past, your past. But I am right here, right now." She looked at him for a moment as if considering what to say next. "I actually did hear your conversation at the chip-shop. What you said to her about not being able to life your life with her. And trust me, I totally understand that. It's just..."

"What?" he enquired.

"It's not fair. I don't know if you just like her or if you love her and if so, in which way, but obviously what she wants is not going to happen if it's for you. But she is clearly still waiting for that."

He looked at her for a moment, deep in thoughts. Was he really treating Rose so unjustly? He thought it was fine just as it was. And if Mira and Sarah Jane hadn't shown up he would still think that. But Mira was right. He could never give Rose what she wanted and deserved. He had told her so, but she was obviously still hoping for it.

And, by the way, when in hell did Mira and he get from her yelling at him to having such a conversation?

"I know," he finally admitted it and ran his hand through his hair. "But I don't want to lose her."

"But she is suffering. Every time when someone else comes along she feels recessed, because - despite of how often you tell her that this can't be - she still doesn't give up hope. You can't lead her on forever."

"I'm not leading her on!"

"No. But if you really care for her, you should either commit to her or set her free. And by setting her free I mean: Keep your feelings to yourself. No more: 'I won't leave you, yet we can't be together like that.' That is anything but a 'No' to her. Sometimes love means to let someone go, if you can't be with her."

He had always avoided to see it like that. To be honest, he was avoiding the whole topic. He basically knew it couldn't go on like that forever, no matter how much he would've liked it. He had to make a decision. Maybe he had just needed to hear it from someone else. Someone who seemed to know exactly what was going on in his head.

"Talk to her. Now. At least about how to behave when she's not in the TARDIS. Before we're landing in the next strange place," she said to him.

"Fine. I guess I have to," he replied after a moment and eyed her intently. "We're good again? I mean, as in: Whenever there is something, such as you want to talk, or... well, wathever, you know I'm there, don't you? So, I'm better be off, eh, before there's another deserted space-ship or something like that." He smiled at her and was out of her room before she had the chance to answer.

* * *

 _Rather short chapter, but they finally talked, at least a bit. Didn't exactly end up as I had planned it, but he obviously have to have the last word. XD_

 _(And yes, I made an error in calculating the years that Mira had missed. Now it's corrected, six-hundred something is right, not nine-hundred as it was in the first version)_

 _Bored411 : Thank you for that lovely review :-) I'm really looking forward to Pete's world myself :D_

 _alwaystherereading, 10th Squad 3rd seat, time-twilight : thanks for your reviews as well.:-)_

 _And of course a big hug to all the others reading, liking and following my story so far. I honestly wasn't expecting that at all as I started writing it, and to me it still seems a bit surreal that someone is actually reading and even enjoying the weird stuff I'm writing. :D_


	16. Chapter 16 - Disappointments

**Chapter XVI**

 _Rose's POV_

Rose had known from the look on Mickey's Face ever since he went to the console room that there had been something. He had grinned like a Cheshire cat whenever he had looked at her. It had taken her a while – actually until the next morning - but she knew that Mickey just wasn't able to keep anything from her for long.

 _You're such a bitch._

That just couldn't be happening. That's what her stupid talking had been all about, just to throw herself at him at the first opportunity. But not on her watch. Mira wanted a fight? She could have one.

"You stupid, skinny little bitch!" Rose yelled at Mira as she found her sitting in the library. Mira put the book that she was reading aside and looked at her. Rose eyed her carefully. She kept a straight face and didn't seem to be surprised at all.

"I knew it. I really knew it. How could I be so stupid to even consider for a second that maybe I might be wrong? Although I would have expected that you wouldn't have been so stupid to do it right in the console room. Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Rose, no matter what Mickey told you: We were just hugging each other. That's it."

"That's it? Arrogant bitch. I'm – thankfully - not such a smart-arse as you are, but I'm not stupid. I know what I saw, how you're behaving towards him since the first day I met you. And most of all, telling Mickey to shut up about what he saw?"

"Rose, we..."

"Shut the fuck up! Do you really think I haven't seen all your flirting?" she yelled at her.

"We weren't flirting, Rose. I'm sorry if you got that impression, but honestly, that wasn't my intention. And by the way, what if? What's it to you? I thought you were together with Mickey," she heard Mira say in such a calm voice that it made her want to slap the calm and composed look out of her face.

"I don't care about what your intentions were. And leave Mickey out of it! You know what? You'll leave. At the next opportunity, you're off the TARDIS. Messing with me like that was a big mistake."

"What makes you think I'll leave?"

"Because you've no idea how long I know the Doctor. How much we've been through. I rescued him once. I destroyed the Emperor of the Daleks. So, whatever I'll tell him, he'll listen to me, trust me. So either you leave or I'll convince him to get rid of you." That wasn't a bad idea at all. Why hadn't she talked to him earlier? Just say a few bad things about this freaky woman and off she would be.

"And you really think with me leaving all your problems will vanish as well?" Mira replied.

Rose just gaped at the other woman. Really? "You're my only god dammed problem! So just fuck off!" Mira's face was still a mask of self-control, her grey eyes glaring at her as if she was just a

particularly interesting lab-rat.

"You can't drive anyone off he might meet in his life. That's not going to help you", Mira said.

"What?"

"Even if I leave, it won't solve your problems."

"Oh quit it. Who do you think you are? Spare me your shrink-babble and your sick mind-games, you freak."

"I actually do have a degree in Psychology, but it's really not that hard to figure out what's going on."

"Shut up! Either you leave on your own, or I'll get him to kick you out. And who do you think he'll believe?"

"I don't respond well to threats, Rose. Just so you know.", Mira said quietly

Her calmness was maddening. She wasn't even properly defending herself. Just this cold, blank and

overbearing facade. Even the Doctor had shown more emotions when they were arguing. "Yeah, got it," Rose said derisively. "You're so old and so wise that you don't even have to bother about me, huh? Has anyone ever slapped that arrogant look out of your face?" Not that she actually was about doing that. She had rarely slapped people, and if so, not that hard. She basically wasn't even about threatening someone like that, but somehow this woman was just driving her crazy.

"This is what you think it is? Arrogance?" Mira replied. At least, now she stood up. "I'm an Empath, Rose. What do you think happens when I let myself get into all your fury and anger right now? When I start spitting filth at you just like you are doing? I know exactly _what_ someone's sore spots are, and I also know _when_ I'm hitting them. I feel what makes people tick and I know how to break them. That's why I normally try not to get involved whenever possible, because sometimes even I tend to lose my temper."

All right. High time she got rid of this psycho. "So I take it that you're not leaving? Well, then I'm gonna have a talk with him.." She hoped that Mira would give in. Even though she really was about to put her threats into action, it would have been so much easier if she just...

"Go on then! Tell him whatever you like. Shall I come with you or wait here?" Mira really didn't give the impression as if she felt intimidated at all. Fine, she asked for it.

"I've already heard enough," A voice from behind almost caused her heart to stop and the blood in heir veins to freeze. She even forgot to breathe for a moment. Her glance fell on Mira, who didn't look surprised. What was that? A set-up?

Slowly she turned around, although she really didn't want to. She didn't want to look into his eyes, didn't want to explain herself and most of all, didn't want to hear what he certainly was about to say to her.

He stood there with his arms crossed and glaring at her out of eyes so dark as she had hardly ever seen them. The worst thing was that he didn't look angry. Not really. He just stared at her out of unblinking eyes. If ever she had found it hard to read in his face, surely it was now.

"I... " She looked too and forth between Mira and the Doctor. "You made this all up, didn't you? You just want to get rid of me!" She decided to go on the offensive.

"Rose, that's not true...", she heard Miras voice behind her.

"Not true? You've planned that from the beginning, you manipulative...," Rose spat at her as she turned on her heels.

"Rose!" she got interrupted. Something in his voice forced her to turn and face him again, although she didn't want to. She was afraid of him right now, no matter how much of this she had brought upon herself. "What's gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into me?" she repeated, her voice now shaky and she herself close to tears. "You were kissing her in the console room and then the both of you set this all up!" She nestled at the sleeve of her jumper, only to look at something else than his expressionless stare, that frightened her more right now than all the anger she had ever seen in his face before.

"We weren't kissing, Rose," he said quietly. "Mira, stay." The other woman had tried to walk past him and out of the library. Now she hesitated for a moment, but then stopped next to him, seemingly feeling rather uncomfortable with her head lowered and shifting her weight from one feed to the other. "And no one wants to get rid of you. But I don't want to hear you issuing threats like that ever again. Got that?" he continued.

"I... ," she started as he just continuously stared at her. "Yes. Got that." Oh hell. Did this just really backfire at her like that? And it was all _her_ fault. She shot a deadly glance at Mira.

"Honestly, Rose, what's that all about? Did you really think you can talk me into throwing her out? Manipulate me in such a way? You really would have gone that far? I thought I could trust you. What's wrong with you?"

She looked at him in sudden realisation.

"I.. I'm sorry. I don't know, it's just... I..." she stumbled. He had sounded hurt, really and honestly hurt. What he had accused her of hadn't occurred to her so far, at least not in that way. But now it hit her like a ton of bricks. She wasn't about to betray his trust and she really hadn't wanted to manipulate him out of ill intent. She just wanted to get Mira off the TARDIS, so she had just wanted to tell him some things that might not have been entirely true. He would have believed her rather than Mira, and everything would have been back to normal in no time. That was all she had wanted. Hell, she hadn't even planned it beforehand. It just came to her as a simple and convenient solution. The realisation of what she had just accidentally done made her feel sick to her stomach. Now she knew what it was that she saw in his eyes: Disappointment.

"I'm really sorry," she whispered once more, unable to look him in the eyes.

"Just to get a few things straight: Mira stays as long as she likes. And you will listen to her from now on when we´re not in the TARDIS and I'm not around. Understood? No more threats, no more blackmailing, no more fighting," he completely ignored her apologies.

Now all that's missing was that he wanted her to apologise to Mira. Tears were now in her eyes, blurring her vision and she could feel that she was about to start crying really badly. "Understood," she sniffed and then hurried past the Doctor, her gaze down to the floor. Neither should he see the tears streaming down face, nor wanted she to see the look of disappointment in his eyes once more. Disappointment that was caused by her.

"Rose!" she heard him calling after her, but she didn't stop.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira had honestly thought that Mickey wouldn't have told Rose so quickly. And, of course, it was sort of a very unhappy coincidence that the Doctor was standing somewhere behind the book-shelves. She herself hadn't seen nor heard him before he had went around the corner and addressed Rose. How long had he been standing there?

As Rose left the library, Mira saw another chance to get out there as well. Not that she had any bad consciousness (Well, not really. She had been a bit bitchy and arrogant, but it could've been worse. It hadn't really contributed to the obvious damage.), but nevertheless, being out of the line of fire was never a bad thing. Besides that she'd had enough of dealing with inter-human-alien drama for one day. In addition, it had been quite hard to witness Rose's self-demolition. The stakes had been high and the girl had lost, no matter if she had wanted it or thought it through.

"Mira! Where're you going?"

 _No sneaking past him..._

She shrugged and looked at him. "Um. Nowhere? Don't know.. My room?" She eyed him more closely. He looked somehow tired, with his hands in the pockets of his suit and sloping shoulders. Almost a bit like earlier in the console room, as he had just heard of Reinette's death. It had really hit him gravely, she realised.

"Did she try that before?" he asked quietly.

She shook her head in response. "I don't believe she thought this through. Not as in planning.."

"No? I trusted her, and she wanted to utilise my trust like that?"

"That's not what she said..."

"But that's what she was about to do!" He was yelling now and she wasn't entirely sure at whom or what – Rose, herself or the whole situation. Probably at all at once.

"Maybe, but I'm quite sure she didn't mean it in that way!"

"She threatened and tried to blackmail you. And you're still defending her?"

"I'm not defending her. I'm just trying to understand. She thought we were kissing or whatever, and she lost it. Apart from that: Yes, she tried to threaten me. And trust me, that's not something I take lightly, but that's between her and me."

"Between her and you? Would you have told me at all?"

"I don't know. Would have depended on what she would have done, I guess."

"You guess?! You would have let her walk away, spreading lies, trying to use my trust in her to manip..."

"Wait! Now it's _my_ responsibility to stop her from tricking you into something? Seriously?" Now she was yelling herself.

"At least you took care of Mickey, didn't you? Damage Control in the truest sense! Worked out pretty well, I might say!"

"Yeah, at least I tried! Those who actually work make mistakes. If it had been for you he would have told her right away!"

He didn't answer but just stared at her out of narrow eyes. He was good at it, she had to give him that. Anyone else would have flinched by now, but she just stared back, pretty much in the same way. Thankfully, it wasn't one of his I-look-right-through-you looks. It was just hotheaded and a bit wilfully. But she was also not bad at this. She was her father's daughter after all, and if there was one physical attribute she clearly had gotten from him – aside from her wiry frame - then it were her steel-grey eyes and her way of glaring at people.

"Am I supposed to feel intimidated in any way by you staring at me like that?" she asked eventually.

"What?!"

"If there is one thing I'm really good at, it's staring others down!"

Their gaze was locked together for one more moment, before his features softened and he blinked. She looked aside as well, her anger vanishing into thin air. Enough fighting.

"Sorry, " they said almost simultaneously.

She took a deep breath and collapsed on the nearest chair. "What a mess. I didn't want that, honestly."

He sat down as well and just stared into space out of wide eyes, his brows furrowed and his features full of sorrow.

"Maybe it's best to talk to her when she has calmed down," she said after a moment of hesitation. "Things aren't as bad as they seem, I guess. It's just a huge, unlucky and ugly misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" he asked bewildered.

"Yeah, I mean, she has a bit of a temper..." She looked down on her hands in discomfort. Oh hell. She herself had never threatened someone like that. Well, not really, and if so under different circumstances and not out of personal rage. If her memory served her right. Things tended to get a bit vague over the ages.

 _Most likely not._

At least she was certain that she wouldn't do it now nor during the last centuries. Maybe when she had still been young and mortal. But she was certain that she had thrown quite a few hurls at her father. Insults and statements that made her really scared about herself when looking back. Not that there had been any trust to destroy at this time, at least not from her side, but nevertheless it had been ugly, unjustified and even outright vicious of her. It was true, they had had a rough start, but she also had lost her temper way more often and easier in her late teens and early twenties, especially before she had found out that she was actually psychic and not just mentally unstable or plain mad. At that time she had been a mess and basically angry at everything, destiny, the people around her, life at a whole, _It_ (Who she still hold personally responsible in some way).  
It wasn't that she had blamed everything on her father, she basically hadn't even hated him. She just couldn't stand him at this time. His whole attitude of sympathy and calmness and not giving up on her (or, as she had put it: Not leaving her alone for god's sake and finally getting out of her life.), it had caused her to explode several times. And he had even been younger back then than she was now. Somewhat around four-hundred and fifty years.

 _Well, talk about attitudes..._

On the other hand, it clearly had been a difficult time back then, although she knew now she couldn't blame her whole behaviour on external circumstances.

"What are you thinking?" he asked and she realised that she had been silent for a while now.

"Nothing. Nothing important, really. You..."

"Take me back home." All of a sudden Rose stood there again, a rucksack thrown loosely over her shoulder, her eyes red from crying.

Mira looked to the Doctor. He just stared at Rose as if she had just slapped him. "Rose," she began saying, "Maybe we should talk about it, all three of us..."

Rose shot her a deadly glare out of red eyes.

"Or maybe not," Mira finished quietly.

"You really want to go home?" The Doctor finally said as he stood up. Rose just nodded. "For good?"

Rose shrugged and looked at her feet in obvious discomfort whilst nestling with the straps of her rucksack. It was more than clear that she was just waiting for a sign from him. At least to Mira it was.

"Fine," she heard him say. "If that's what you want..."

She felt the sudden urge to shake him as she glanced at him in disbelief. Really? Before she fully realised what was going on he was about to leave the library, Rose following behind him. She stayed there and looked after them a bit in shock.

 _That's it? No talking, nothing?_

Right now she didn't understand him at all, even though she had not only a degree in Psychology, but also in Xeno-Psychologie. She could figure out the behaviour of other species, but for that she had to know more than one representative of that very species. One just couldn't judge the whole lot by observing the behaviour of an individual. Or judge anything at all, as for that. What did she know of him? Nothing. Nothing about his culture, his beliefs, his personal history. Well nothing besides that he was the only survivor if she got things right. Puts him somehow out of the normal way of evaluating representatives of a species anyway, because he wasn't typical any more. Strictly scientifically speaking.

After a few minutes she decided to follow them. Most likely they were gone to the console room, and she really believed that there was no way to make things even worse by her presence. It was already screwed up as much as possible.

As she had halfway made it to the console room, suddenly and totally without warning the TARDIS was shaken by a gigantic impact. At least to her it seemed like one, the ship was violently thrown around as if they were under attack. She fell and glided over the floor until she hit the opposite wall. All that happened before she was fully aware that something had happened at all. She would have sworn that she even could here the TARDIS scream in her mind, then all of the lights went black.

* * *

 _A bit more from Rose in this chapter. And yes, I know, she speaks dialect. But I just can't do that, it would be just weird and awkward, so I won't do it. I can't even fake most German dialects, not to speak of one in my second language._

 _Thanks to 10th squad 3rd seat, time-twilight, bored411 and alibird1 for the reviews :-)_

 _(bored411, our birthday is actually at the same day ;D although not in the same year.)_

 _And also thanks to whoever put my story into that communitiy. That's really awesome. :-D_


	17. Chapter 17 - Rise of the Cybermen Pt 1

**Chapter XVII**

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor had set course for Earth, just as Rose had wanted it. Mickey had also been in the console room already, he was leaving with Rose. Now he watched her and tried to make up his mind if – and what – he should say to her. Maybe Mira was right and Rose hadn't meant it like that, but he had heard it with his own ears. He had been standing in the library all the time since Rose had stormed in and yelled at Mira. The mere fact that she was about to use everything – his trust, all the things they had been through – to manipulate him was overwhelming. He thought he knew her. Of course he had noticed her behaviour towards Sarah and Mira, and that had clearly been a thing he had wanted to talk about with her. But after everything she had just said... He wasn't too sure about his own feelings towards her anymore. And she knew exactly how high he held trust. And yet she was about to use it like that.

Some part of him honestly wished that she had only said it out of the heat of the moment, and wouldn't have done it. But how could he be sure now?

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted. With a loud bang and a shower of sparks the console exploded. It wasn't just some minor short-circuit, it was a real explosion this time. Instantly, the lights went dark. The TARDIS shook and staggered as if something had collided with her.

"What's happened?!" he heard Rose scream as he reached for the console.

"The time vortex is gone! That's impossible - it's just gone!" He didn't need the instruments to confirm that, he had known it from the moment the console had exploded. He could fly her almost blindly, and of course he always felt if the TARDIS was flying through the vortex or drifting through the universe.

"Brace yourself! We're gonna crash!" he warned Mickey and Rose. Not a moment later the TARDIS crashed on... Yeah, on what? He looked around the console room, Rose and Mickey were lying on the floor. Where was Mira?

"Everyone all right? Rose – Mickey?" They both picked themselves up and nodded at him.

"We've been attacked?" And there was Mira, running up the stairs. All right. At least all the passengers were fine. But there was someone else who clearly wasn't.

"No. Not an attack," he answered Mira quietly, slowly realising the impossible. "She's dead." He couldn't believe it, even though he was feeling it. The space in his mind that had been occupied by her throughout all these centuries was now empty. The connection to her was gone. For the first time since the Time War he felt truly and genuinely alone.

"The TARDIS is dead," he whispered again as he walked around the now dead and dark console. Panic was slowly creeping up his neck, tightening his throat. She had been _everything_ to him. It was not only that he was linked to her, she had been there for him for _all this time_. He had felt what she was feeling. They had had disputes, she had comforted him, and he had cared for her as she had done for him. It was so much more than just a link. It had been a symbiotic connection and now it was all gone, leaving nothing but loneliness. As if a part of him had died with her. He stroke gently over the now cold and lifeless console.

"You can fix it?" Rose asked.

He looked at her and shook his head slightly. "There's nothing to fix. She's perished." He pulled a lever, but to no avail. "The last TARDIS in the universe... extinct," he murmured, his voice almost cracking with grieve for her.

"We can get help, yeah?" Rose wanted to know.

"Where from?"

"Well, we've landed - we've gotta be somewhere," she said, now almost a bit hysterical.

"We fell out of the vortex, through the void, into nothingness. We're in some sort of no-place... the silent realm... the lost dimension...," he explained.

"What do you mean?" Mira asked. She stood at the opposite side of the console, a look on her face as if she knew exactly.

"We fell out of the universe," he said to her. She just shook her head in disbelief.

"No. We're not. That is..."

"We are. I don't know how your lot calls this place, but.."

"London maybe?" All heads flung around to Mickey, who had opened the door and was now grinning at them.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Saying that Mira was shocked would have been an understatement. The TARDIS was dead, just as he had said it. The ever-surrounding presence of the old time-ship was gone. They had fallen out of the universe, as the Doctor had called it. Of course she knew what he meant, although she had never believed that someone could actually strand there in physical form. It was, as he had said, nothingness. There was no mathematical theory to describe 'nothing'. She had always imagined it a bit as if getting lost in hyperspace during a transmitter-malfunction. Floating through the five-dimensional space, dissolved into particles. With the slight difference that here, outside the universes, were no dimensions. No space, no time, no higher dimensions that contained their familiar, four-dimensional space. But how could an three-dimensional object as the TARDIS exist in there? Or any other object with actual dimensions? She turned her head to Mickey, who had opened the door.

"London?" she asked sceptically. Mickey walked out and she, the Doctor and Rose were following him.

"London, England, Earth. Hold on..." Mickey continued. She looked around herself. True, it looked like the London they had been earlier as they had been after the Krillitanes. But something was odd. Wrong. Terribly so. "First of February this year - not exactly far-flung, is it?" Mickey had grabbed a newspaper. Rose was leaning against his back and looking over his shoulder. Mira looked up as she saw strange shadows crossing the streets and heard a weird noise above her head.

 _Zeppelins?_

"So, this is London," she heard the Doctor say.  
Well, he must have noticed it as well. At least the Zeppelins. She had no idea if he was also able to sense changes in the universe. She had always been able to do so, at least a bit. She couldn't explain it, and the first time she had really noticed it was in another universe. It had suddenly _felt_ different. There had been one other mutant she had met, who was able to feel things in a similar way. It had been the young Bjo Breiskoll, born on the generation-ship SOL as they were on their search for the Milky-Way-Galaxy. He had been able to sense not only the universe (or, to be more precise, the cosmical force-fields that were filling the whole universe), but also time as it was intertwined with space, and so to predict whenever and wherever something important was about to happen. If the Doctor was able to see time, then maybe he had some sort of sense for the universe as well. Or it were really just the Zeppelins that gave it away.

"Yep," Mickey replied in all certainty.

"Your city," the Doctor enquired.

"That's the one."

"Just as we left it."

"Bang on."

"And that includes the Zeppelins?"

Now Mickey and Rose were looking up too.

"What the hell...?" now he was getting it. "Okay. So, it's London with a big international Zeppelin festival."

"This is not your world," she said quietly. It wasn't that much different from his though, not as much as her world differed from their world, but it was different nevertheless.

Again. It suddenly hit her. Stranded somewhere, with the TARDIS dead, their only hope of getting away. Maybe not back into their own universe – or at least, Mickey's, Rose's and the Doctor's universe, but at least off this rock that wasn't her homeworld in a decent amount of time. Let's say, in less than two or three-hundred years. She sat down on a little stone wall as she felt her knees weakening. She knew it. She didn't really believed in curses herself, but there was no sense in denying that she seemed to attract these things. It wasn't like she was thinking that the universe was evolving around her, but she was here for fifteen-hundred years, and her father had lead humanity into space and shaped the galaxy like hardly anyone before him. Whether she liked it or not, not only he, or Atlan or whoever, but also she herself had always been in the centre of events. And most of them hadn't been exactly pleasant.

And she had also drawn the people around her into it. Countless times before. And now, they were not only trapped but the TARDIS was dead. She felt so sorry for her. Not to mention what that meant to the Doctor now. She had seen people crying about the loss of their ships before, and these ships hadn't even been alive.

She wouldn't go so far to say it was all her fault, but there was no way of denying that these things seemed to cumulate around her.

"But if the date's the same... it's parallel, right? Am I right? Like a parallel Earth where they've got Zeppelins, am I right? I'm right, aren't I?" Mickey had worked it out.

"Must be," she heard the Doctor say from right next to her where he was sitting now. When did he sit down there?

"It is," she said and shot a short glance at the Doctor, just to instantly look away again.

"So, a parallel world where...," Rose started to say. Mira looked at her. Her eyes were still a bit red, but she seemed to have gotten back at least some of her composure.

"Oh, come on. You see it on films. Like an alternative to our world were everything is the same but a little bit different, like... I dunno - traffic lights are blue, Tony Blair never got elected...," Mickey explained to her, seemingly excited. "Like the one you come from?" he asked her now.

"Not exactly. This seems to be a copy of yours, just a bit different as you just said. Mine is completely different. Actually, the term 'parallel universe' isn't that correct in that case. It is another universe, but so different that you basically can't call it parallel if you want do be scientifically precise. Even – at least some – laws of physics appear to be different there." They were all silent for a moment as Rose exclaimed, "Oh my god!" and pointed at an advertising poster with a man holding a bottle. "A parallel world and my dad's still alive..."

The Doctor and Mira stood up and walked over to her. She had no idea that Rose's father was dead in her universe, and of all people it had to be a parallel version of him on that poster.

"Don't look at it, Rose. Don't even think about it. This is not your world," the Doctor said sternly.

"But he's my dad... and...," Rose said, sounding a bit lost. She touched the poster and the picture started to move and even talk. "Oh, that's weird. But he's real!" She took a step back. "He's a success! He was always planning these daft little schemes, health-food drinks and stuff. Everyone said they were useless. But he did it." Now there was definitely a happy tone to her voice.

The Doctor seemingly didn't share her enthusiasm, for he took her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Rose, if you've ever trusted me, then listen to me now." Rose just glanced back at the poster. "Stop looking at it!" His voice sounded urgently now.

"Could I ever trust you?" she said quietly and looked at him again.

"Rose...," he started with a hint of sadness in his voice before he got serious again. "Your father's dead. He died when you were six months old. That is not your Pete. That is _a_ Pete. For all we know, he's got his own Jackie - his own Rose. His own daughter who is someone else, but not you." She was peering over to the poster again. "You can't see him. Not ever."

"Why not?" Mira suddenly asked. The Doctor and Rose stared at her. "I mean, it's a parallel world. It's not about seeing your future or past self. It's true that he is not your dad, Rose, and most likely wouldn't understand why you're here and where you come from, but just seeing him won't do any harm I guess. Although I recommend not to talk to him." She could see the change in the Doctor's face. He clearly didn't like what she just said, but well. She had never hold her tongue for the sake of peace and quiet. If Rose wanted to see him, why not? If she thought she would be able to handle it?

"No, she can't."

"Why not? What is worse in _seeing_ someone in another universe than in messing with history in the year 1879?"

"Because I say so!"

"Oh, great. Will the universes implode or something like that? No?"

"It just can't be! You know what? I go back to the TARDIS and see what I can do for her. Just stay here and don't do anything stupid. Mickey, have an eye on Rose."

"You're quite used to giving orders, aren't you?" Mira said under her breath, but obviously still loud enough for him to hear it, judging from the look he gave her and the dark flash of anger she saw in his eyes. Good. He was supposed to hear it. Talking about humans and battles and her being with the military in such a tone and at the same time giving orders as he was used to it? Not with her, even though he most likely had reasons for that. People seldom did things without a reason. A reason like.. Maybe he had his experience with this topic. Oh hell. What was it that had happened to his people?

 _Great._ _No idea about what's going on but don't hesitate to hit every sore spot possible._

There were only a few reasons why species died out. Three main reasons, to be precise. All of them not really pleasant, although one of them was particularly nasty. One more topic that added to her list of piling problems. There already was more than enough on it – a jealous teenager, the second parallel universe in shortest time to be stuck in, the TARDIS dead and she had nothing better to do than to put her finger in other people's wounds. As if the situation wouldn't have been tense enough already.

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

Rose was staring after the Doctor. She had no wish to follow him after all that had happened. Yeah, she had said she wanted to leave. But she had hoped that he would have said something against it. Forgive her. At least give her a chance. But nothing. And now they were stuck here, with the TARDIS not working any more. Stuck. Her eyes fell on Mira. Stuck just like her. Well, at least this was somehow similar to the London in the universe where she came from. Besides the Zeppelins. Plus, her father was still alive here.  
But aside from that she had nothing here. No flat, no money, no nothing. And even if there was something, it didn't belong to her, but to another Rose. How must it be to have nothing at all, not even a place to call home? For the first time since she had met the other woman she was really thinking about it. She couldn't help herself, but to feel almost a bit sorry for her. The TARDIS was actually the only place were she could stay.  
But that was no excuse for screwing everything between herself and the Doctor.  
Strange thing was, Mira had just defended her, sort of. Again.

"Do you really think it's no problem to go see my dad?" she asked her. No harm in getting as much information as possible.

"Don't know. At least I don't think anything really bad would happen. Just be aware that people in other worlds are not always as we expect them to be. Met another version of myself once. A rather nasty one, as for that. The whole universe was like that..."

Fine. As long as they were here, she could really go and see him. Now more than ever, with the Doctor and Mira obviously conspiring against her.

"Rose..."

"What?" she said harshly. She had exactly heard the insistent tone in Mira's voice.

"I know you can't really stand me. But please, just listen." Mira had lifted her hands in a defensive and calming gesture.

"Why should I? So you can tell me more lies?"

"I didn't lie to you." Mira took a look around, as did Rose. Mickey was strolling around a few yards away, watching the Zeppelins. "It's just... Aren't you tired of all this yourself? I mean, the whole situation. It's just incredibly exhausting." Rose looked at her face. She could see that Mira was really trying to get through to her. "We really need to talk about it. Right now it's only false assumptions leading to nothing but pain and destruction."

"Well, as if that's not entirely your fault..," she replied, a tiny bit less harsh than before but still far from friendly.

"Rose, please, I beg you. You're clever. And I don't think you're a hateful person. So just take a step back and think about everything. And give me a chance to explain what really happened."

"Fine. I guess otherwise you won't leave me alone."

"It wasn't a set-up earlier. I had no idea that he was standing there. See, I can't sense him as I can sense other people. Maybe if I'm really concentrating, but that wasn't the case. And we weren't kissing. The only reason I asked Mickey to not tell you anything was because he got it wrong. It was a hug and he thought we were kissing. I just jumped as he asked for the pool, as I always do when I startle. And it wasn't hard to figure out what would happen if he tells you. Look, I have no idea of what's going on between you and Mickey and you and the Doctor. But I don't want to interfere with it. If it looked like flirting to you, I can understand that. But it wasn't flirting. I've no interest in him in that way. And even if: I don't belong in your universe. I have no intention to stay. And most of all I won't get involved with someone from there. Because I know I will have to leave him. So there is nothing for you to worry about. Honestly."

"And why should I believe you?"

"I don't know. You have no reason, that's true. And I know I can seem to be arrogant and self-righteous. Even less reasons to trust me. But look, Rose, it's just... I have seen all this before. I have been through things like that before and I have known so many people before. And I can´t change that. It´s who I am now. Maybe it's true. Maybe, somewhere along the way, I have lost the ability to communicate with other people about these personal issues. Just because I don't speak their language any more. I don't _want_ to be arrogant or patronising, but I'm afraid that's exactly what I've become."

"Done?" She eyed Mira sceptically. There was something in her face, in her voice. Something honest, that made her almost believable.

"Just one more thing. Think about it. And when we've found a way out of this whole situation - if there is one – we should talk. All of us together. And please, don't act in the heat of the moment now. Not when it comes to you leaving or anything about your dad in this universe."

"Yeah. Whatever." She shrugged and after a moment walked over to a bench, sat down and pulled out her mobile. She peered at Mira, who was standing in front of the poster. She was indeed arrogant like hell. On the other hand, she didn't want anything more than to believe her. That there had never been anything, most of all no kissing. But that was in contradiction to Mira's – and the Doctor's – behaviour. Even though she had a point with her being eager to leave. But still, all of it wouldn't have happened if she wouldn't have come here in the first place. Though even Rose had to admit that this hadn't been Mira's fault.

There was one more thing that Mira had been right about: It was exhausting. She herself had gotten really tired of it by now. She basically wanted nothing more than to believe her, so that everything could get back to normal. If everything could go back to normal again. With her, the Doctor and even with this weird woman on board of the TARDIS.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

"I told you to keep an eye on Rose!" the Doctor snapped at Mickey, who just entered the TARDIS.

"She's all right," Mickey said.

"She goes wandering off - parallel world, it's like a gingerbread house! All those temptations calling out."

"Mira's out there."

"Great. Have you listened to what she just said about seeing Rose's dad?"

"Yeah, it's just all about Rose then? Nothing out there to tempt me?"

"Well, I don't know, I can't worry about everything... if I could just get this thing to..." He kicked against the dead console and winced.

"Did that help?"

"Yes." No, not really. It was supposed to be a bit of an outlet of frustration, but to no avail.

"Did that hurt?"

"Yes. Ow." He sat down on the bench, rubbing his foot. "We're not meant to be here. The TARDIS draws its power off the universe, but it's the wrong universe. It's like diesel in a petrol engine."

"But... I've seen it in comics. People are hopping from one alternative world to another - it's easy." Mickey sat down next to him.

"Not in the real world" He heard the door and someone stepping through. He assumed it would be Rose, judging from the cautious and hesitant steps he could hear and didn't turn his head to confirm it. "Used to be easy. When the Time Lords kept their eye on everything, you could hop between realities, home in time for tea. Then they died, took it all with them. The walls of reality closed, the worlds were sealed. Everything became that bit less kind."

"Then how did we get here?"

"I don't know. Accident? Should have been impossible - now we're trapped."

"Anything else regarding your knowledge of parallel worlds you want to share?" he heard a voice behind him. All right, he was wrong. It wasn't Rose who had just entered. Mickey jumped up.

"I'm out. Seeing what Rose is doing..."

Mickey certainly had a sense for timing, the Doctor thought as he looked after him. He was about to get up, but Mira just sat down next to him.

"I wanted to tell you. I really did. But there had been no time, as things got messed up...," he tried to explain. And it was the truth. He really wanted to.

"What do you mean they are 'sealed'?" she asked, her head turned to him. He eyed her slender face. It was all just eyes now, eyes that looked strangely dark in the almost pitch-black console room.

"As I just said it. The universes are sealed of. It should be impossible to travel between them. What brought you here – and well, us in this universe – were just violent accidents. It shouldn't happen. And certainly not if you try it deliberately. I really wanted to tell you. There are no singularities and tunnels any more, leading from one world to another. There had been, but they're gone now."

She was silent for a while before she answered him. "I don't think so."

"What?"

"I don't think there is no way back. I.. Sometimes I just know how things will turn out. It just pops into my head. Regarding this topic, I don't have any idea. Neither yes nor no. So I don't think it's that fixed yet."

"What?!" He must have gotten it wrong. She hadn't just said that she could know how things would turn out that hadn't happened yet. Humans couldn't see the future. That was impossible. Wishful thinking, if anything. He looked at her bewildered, waiting for her to confirm what she had just said.

"Never mind," she brushed it aside. "So, she is really... dead?"

"Yes. I'm afraid so.. Wrong universe, wrong sort of energy for her." All right, change of topic. Again.

"Oh dammit. Listen, I'm sorry. For what I said out there. About you giving orders. It was inappropriate. I don't know anything about you, so it's not on me to say things like that right now."

She didn't know anything of him? So she really was about to ignore everything that had happened and they both were aware of? He smiled lightly, although it was more of a sad smile. "You don't? When we first met you saw more of me than anyone else in a long time. And then, yesterday, here in the console room, you..."

"Don't. Please."

"Why not?" he replied softly.

"There's already been enough damage. No need to force even more."

After that they remained silent for a while. He just observed her, whilst she was staring into space. Yeah, there had been damage. In any direction. But he didn't agree with her that just avoiding certain topics would help anything.

 _What's done is done._

"What happened to them?" she finally broke the silence and looked at him again.

"To whom?"

"Your people. They're all gone. You just said it to Mickey, and Brother Lassa said it to you back at the swimming pool. All of them? You're the only one left?"

"I.. yes." He wasn´t aware that she had heard it at the school. He hated to talk about it, he really did. But now, for she obviously knew, there was no way out.

"But how?"

"Mira, it's really not that important right now..."

She just looked at him as if she knew exactly what had happened. "Well, there are not that much possibilities," she began quietly. "I don't think it was a natural disaster, after everything I've seen of your technology. Whatever might have been, you would have been able to foresee it. And then either prevent it or move elsewhere. And I also don't think that your people just died out. It happens, but it takes time. Even more so for a long lived species like yours. It doesn't happen in nine-hundred years, leaving exactly one survivor behind."

He was so stunned he could just stare at her. Well, clearly no use in feigning anything to her.

"Leaves pretty much only one other possibility," she continued.

There was no need to actually say it. He could see in her face that she had figured it out and that she was certain about it. Aside from that, there was so much more written all over her face. The abstract grief for whole civilisations turned into reality by having seen their remains with her own eyes. Remains of once great and flowering civilisations that had been extinguished long before their time in cruel and preposterous wars, leaving nothing but ruins and dust and ashes. He suddenly knew she had seen all that for herself, although he doubted that it had been her own people. Nevertheless, there was so much sympathy coming from her.  
They looked at each other in mutual understanding as he suddenly realised that he was not only reading all this in her face. It was a bit as it had been back at the school when he had gotten this one thought of her in his mind. And yet now it was on a different, more emotional level.

"Look, there was... ," he began and then something caught his eye. "What's that?" he said in sudden excitement. There was a green light beneath the floor of the console room.

"What?"

"That!" He jumped up and pointed at it. "See that? What's that? A reflection?" He was now kneeling on the floor, looking up and down. Mira crouched beside him. "No, that's not a reflection. That is...a light, isn't it? I think that is a light!"

"Looks like one..."

"That's all we need!" he said cheerfully whilst removing the grill right above the light source.

"That's light so there is power!" New hope was flooding through him as he hopped down through the hole in the floor. He pulled aside some of the internals of the TARDIS in order to reach the source of the light.

"It's alive!" he exclaimed as he finally hold the little power crystal in his hands.

"What's that?" Mira was kneeling on the floor and peering down on his hands.

"It's nothing. It's tiny. One of those insignificant little power cells that no one ever bothers about, and it's clinging onto life. But with one little ounce of reality tucked away inside," he answered whilst looking at the power cell.

"Enough to get us back?" she asked and he could hear the doubt in her voice.

"Not yet," he answered and lifted himself up a bit. "I need to charge it up."

"Well, then get some power supply and plug it in?" she said and looked around her. " And probably risk a blackout in London. I mean, she really needs a lot of energy, doesn't she?"

"Nah, that's relative. Besides, that's the wrong sort of energy. It's gotta come from our universe."

"Yeah, great. I don't think you have an emergency backup generator?"

"Well, there's me..." He blew gently over the power cell which immediately started to glow in a bright, greenish light.

"I just gave away ten years of my life. Worth every second!" he beamed at Mira. She just looked at him somehow stunned.

"You're amazing, you know that?"

"Oh yes!" He was still smiling all over his face. That was all that they had needed. The both worlds were so similar, they had a real chance to make it back. He looked at the little power cell in affection, which had just turned to a dimmer green. He could hardly resisted the urge to stroke it.

"What's it doing now?"

"It's on a recharging cycle," he answered. "It'll loop round, power back up and be ready to take us home in - oh - twenty-four hours?"

"Yeah, home," she said so sadly that his smile immediately faded. Not home. More like back to another parallel universe for her. Before he could say something, Mickey opened the door.

"Ah, Mickey-Ricky. Seems we have twenty-four hours shore leave. Just keep your head down and don't do anything stupid. Although... That would be quite hard in your case, wouldn't it?"

"Hey!" Mira said to him. "Rude again?"

"Yeah, fine with me. Just wanted to tell you guys that I'll be off a bit. Seeing someone. Oh and, Rose is also going to see her dad. Went away about ten minutes ago," Mickey said and closed the door from the outside.

* * *

 _10th squad 3rd seat, time-twilight and bored411: Thank you for reviewing :-)_

 _And thanks to anyone else reading it so far :-)_


	18. Chapter 18 - Rise of the Cybermen Pt 2

**Chapter XVIII**

 _Mira's POV_

"Mickey! Come back!" Mira heard the Doctor yell so loud that she instinctively covered her ears. She looked at him for a second and watched his attempts to free himself of the various cables he was wrapped with. The next moment she was up on her feed and out of the door. The place outside had become quite crowded by now – too crowded. No sign of Mickey. She ran around the TARDIS and tried to spot him somewhere, but the masses had swallowed him by now.

"Where is he?" the Doctor asked as he looked around as well, standing in the door.

"Gone. Hell knows where." She shrugged and turned her head to him. Great. The look in his eyes was anything but good.

"You really had to encourage her to go after her dad? What have you told her when I was in the TARDIS?"

"Excuse me? I haven't encouraged anyone."

"No? What was it then, telling her there isn't anything bad that could happen?"

"Telling her the truth? This is a bloody parallel world and not about time travel. She's not about to see someone from her past or future or mess with history!"

"But he's _not_ her dad!"

"That's what I've told her. And so did you. By the way, she didn't seemed too impressed by you telling her to stay here!"

"Oh, you're so sure about that?"

"Yes. And, most of all, you told _Mickey_ to have an eye on her. NOT ME! I have even told her, whilst you were in the TARDIS, that she shouldn't rush it!"

"Does this matter now? She's off and about to mess with EVERYTHING!"

"Oh for God's sake! There is nothing to mess with, because it's a dammed PARALLEL UNIVERSE!"

"Yeah, right. Probably running into another version of her is not messing? Can you image what that could do to her?"

"Oh. That's it. So, _now_ you're concerned? But werewolfs, Krillitanes and clockwork-robots in the year 5100 are fine for her mental health? And yes, I can imagine, because I've actually met myself once!"

"Yeah, now I am. And if I tell her not to go, then you DON'T encourage her."

"Oh, says who?"

"Me. Doctor, Timelord, nine-hundred and six years!"

"Oh! Guess what? And I disagree! Mira Rhodan, human, mutant, fifteen-hundred and ninety six years old!"

"And what exactly qualifies you to say anything about parallel worlds? Hm?" Oh, he could get sarcastic as well, Mira noticed.

"Besides the fact that I'm older than you and have been in parallel worlds before? I'm a Hyperphysicist, I've promoted in higher-dimensional Mathematics, I..."

"You two are so awesome!" she suddenly heard a voice. As she turned her head she saw a boy, about twelve years old, standing next to them, obviously filming them with one of these mobile-communication devices. At least she assumed he was filming, but the gesture was somehow universal.

"Hey! Stop it!" she said perplexed after staring at him for a moment. The child was seemingly unimpressed.

"Oi! Didn't you listen?" the Doctor tried it now himself, with a slightly confused look on his face.

"I did," the boy said and finally lowered the device. "That's cool. You're two loons who think they're aliens, aren't you? I really have to put that on YouTube."

"YouTube? What's that?" she asked.

"Oh, _really_?" He looked at her as if she was some sort of exotic animal. Well, she definitely had her own thoughts on the matter. Most likely it was some positronic were you could upload your videos to.

"Yeah, really. Or do you know about Terra-Network or Nathan? No? You know what? Highly likely your poor behaviour is to blame on your parents, but nevertheless: Yes. We actually are aliens. Not loons. And guess what? Everywhere in orbit there are our satellites with thermal-weapons. Satellites that are able to trace and locate your little communication device."

"My _what_?" Now he was outright laughing at her.

"Your mobile phone," the Doctor provided obligingly.

"Oh God," she sighed in frustration. "Phone, as for me. So, one word of advice: Get lost and delete what you've just filmed. _Before_ putting it anywhere. And next time you should be more careful about whom you film. We are _everywhere_."

He finally put his mobile away and went off.

"What's wrong with them these days? Happy-slapping, filming people without asking..." she said to the Doctor. Well, at least she was used to the filming-part, besides the fact that the boy obviously had now idea who she was.

"Don't know. It's your lot." The Doctor answered and scratched his neck as he looked after the child.

"My lot? These are surely not my people. And sometimes I even doubt that the other humans in my universe are. Anyway. Arguing about who's fault it is that Rose run off won't lead us anywhere. We need to find out where this Pete lives."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

They were walking through London, the Doctor next to Mira who had asked some Taxi-Drivers for Peter Tyler's address.

"I really didn't encourage her," he heard Mira suddenly say. "At least that wasn't my intention. I just can't stand it when other people are keeping things from me or tell me what to do because they think they know what's best for me."

So, that was what it's all about. "But maybe sometimes they do?" he asked and looked at her. She turned her head and met his glance with scepticism.

"No they don't. It's not up to others to make such – any - decisions for me. That's patronising and degrading."

"Maybe. Or maybe it's about trust?"

"Trust?" She stopped and turned her whole body to him now. He also stopped. "That's trust for you?"

"Well, there's more to trust, but yes, I guess it's part of it."

"Really? Good to know." She went on, arms crossed. It was cold, he had to admit, and she had left her jacket in the TARDIS. It was not that cold for him, but she was slightly shivering.

"Do you want my jacket?" he asked.

"No, thanks."

"Sure?"

"Yeah. Not that I would catch a cold or something like that."

He shrugged and they went in silence for a while. He suddenly doubted that she would ever ask for any help, or even accept it. Finally, he took his jacket off after all. His coat would be a bit long for her anyway, and he couldn't see her shivering like that. He put it over her shoulder and she didn't protest but wrapped herself in it.

"Thank you."

"So, what means trust for you then?" he couldn't let go of this topic.

"Don't know?"

"Well, that's not an answer," he said after she had been quiet for a few moments.

"Maybe you're just asking the wrong person. Most people I don't need to _trust_. I outright know if they're telling the truth, lie to me or deceive me."

She had a point there, he had to admit, even though it sounded somehow sad. What was life without trust? "Do you trust me?"

"What?" she said a bit startled. "I... I don't know. We hardly know each other."

As if that wasn't a thing that couldn't be helped. "Well, if you..." He was suddenly interrupted by the sound of an alarm. "What's that?" Everyone around them froze to the spot. He looked around. Indeed, every single one.

"What are they doing?" Mira asked.

"They've stopped..."

"Don't you say!"

He looked at her, eyebrows raised. It was her asking. He just answered. "It's the earpieces," he said. He stepped to a man and took a closer look at the little devices. They were flashing and beeping. He pulled the Sonic out of the Jacket that was still hanging around Mira's shoulders and gave the little device a quick scan. "It's like Bluetooth attachments, but they are all connected together."

"What for?"

"Some sort of Data-Transmission." He was still scanning with his Sonic. "Information, directly downloaded into their brains!"

"Effective.."

"Yeah, probably. Everyone gets the same information."

Mira flipped right in front of the man. He didn't react in any way. "Well, I actually rather prefer reading or listening than this... Effective or not." Suddenly the crowd around them started to laugh and then moved on. "Strange."

"Yeah," he replied and watched as the crowed walked on as if nothing had happened. He looked around and his eyes fell on someone. "Rose!" She was sitting on a bench, looking at her phone and lifted her head as she heard him shouting her name. He was really glad to see her, apart from everything that had happened, he realised. He almost expected her to run away again, but she just sat there and looked at him with sadness all over her face.

"Rose! What happened? You all right?" He had planned to give her a lashing-down, but something in her eyes stopped him.

"My phone connected. There's this... Cybus Network, it finds your phone. It gave me Internet access," she said quietly.

"Rose, whatever it says, it's not your world. Nothing to worry. We will be off in about twenty-four hours. I found this little energy cell and..." He showed her the power crystal, but she didn't actually look.

"I don't exist," she said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"There's no Rose Tyler. I was never born. There's Pete, my dad, and Jackie... he still married mum... but they never had kids," she explained. "They're rich. They've got a house and cars, and everything they want. But they haven't got me." He could almost see tears in her eyes.

"That's what I've tried to tell you, Rose" Mira said. She was sitting on Rose's left side, he on her right. "They might look the same, but they can be completely different."

"I've gotta see him," Rose said stubbornly.

"Rose...," he tried it again.

"I just wanna see him," she interrupted him. "Besides, he is quite connected with this Cybus Industries. Have you watched the people? Must've been News. I received it with my mobile. Cybus Industries owns just every company in Britain, including Vitex."

"Well..." All right, she had a point here. He was now definitely curious enough. A company that almost owned everything, this strange way to receive News...

"All right, I give up. Fine. We go see him. Just seeing, got that?" She smiled slightly at him. "And later we talk!"

"Fine," she said, apparently not totally convinced and put her phone away. "Listen. I'm sorry. I really am. It was just stupid and... and childish. I didn't know what I was saying. I.. Actually, I did know. But I didn't want that." She looked at him out of huge eyes.

He eyed her. Something had happened with her since they were here. She _seemed_ to be serious about it. And a bit lost, judging from the expression on her face. It was a bit like the look he sometimes saw on Mira's face when she felt unobserved. Lost and out of place. He put his arm around Rose's shoulders. Not everything was forgotten and forgiven, but maybe they really could work it out later.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira was crouching next to the Doctor in some bushes, still wrapped in his jacket. Rose was also there. So, that would be Pete's house. It was really big, rather a mansion than a house. There was some sort of party going on, she could clearly see that the house was crawling with visitors.

"They've got visitors," the Doctor stated the obvious.

"February the first - mum's birthday. Even in a parallel universe, she still loves a party," Rose answered. Mira looked at her from the side. She had apologised to the Doctor. Something in this universe had obviously given her something to think about. She had been serious in her apology – although Mira doubted that she and Rose would become friends in the near future. At least between Rose and the Doctor it seemed back to normal.

"Well, given Pete Tyler's guest list, I wouldn't mind a look. And there is one guaranteed way of getting inside," the Doctor replied and waved with his psychic paper.

"So, this is keeping our heads down?" Mira asked and looked at him with one brow raised.

"Yeah," he answered and looked at her the same way. "Undercover. Worked at the school, didn't it?"

 **…**

Not much later they were all inside Pete's Mansion. Maybe not exactly the way Rose would have liked it – they were in disguise as waitresses and waiter. Rose and her were wearing black, knee-long dresses with short sleeves and black boots. The Doctor looked quite good in this black suit, she had to admit, but Rose was complaining again. At least it was warm in here.

"We could've been anyone," Rose said under her breathe to the Doctor as she offered a tablet with food to the guests.

"So, who for example? Guests? Without knowing anyone? Or anything, as for that? Would be a tiny bit suspicious, wouldn't it?" Mira whispered back and earned a toxic look from Rose.

"Got us in, didn't it?", the Doctor intervened.

"You're in charge of the psychic paper. We end up serving. I had enough of this back home," Rose couldn't let go of the topic.

Mira rolled her eyes before she shot a quick look at the tray with glasses full of champagne that the Doctor was holding. Would it be too inappropriate to have one or two of them? It would make the situation a bit more bearable. Not that the alcohol in there would have much effect on her. It was a poison after all – at least that was what her cell-activator made out of it - and she would have to drink a whole bottle of Vodka - at least - to notice anything at all.

"If you wanna know what's going on, work in the kitchens," the Doctor answered nonchalantly. For the next minutes the three of them were doing their jobs – although it was a bit weird for her. It really had been a while since she was able to be somewhere on Earth without being recognised. And now she was here amongst all these humans and no one had ever heard of her. Besides, normally she had been a guest to such events.  
Not much later, they gathered again in a corner of the room.

"According to Lucy, that man over there...," the Doctor started and nodded over to an older man. His hair had turned grey and there was a distinct air of power surrounding him.

"Who's Lucy?" Rose interrupted with _that_ tone in her voice. All right, everything back to normal.

"She's carrying the salmon pin wheels," the Doctor answered all innocent and nodded over to another waitress.

"Oh, that's Lucy, is it?"

"Yeah! Lucy says, that is the President of Great Britain," the Doctor answered, still oblivious.

"What, there's a President, not a Prime Minister?" Rose asked.

"Seems so."

"Or maybe Lucy's just a bit thick," Rose replied before walking away.

Oh hell. Maybe she really should look for some alcohol in the kitchen. "Talk to her," she whispered in his ear.

 _Or I will._

"Excuse me! Thank you very much. Thank you - if I could just have your attention, please?" Pete stood on the stairs and addressed the whole room. He really looked like his poster, Mira thought. The Doctor and she now had Rose in their middle. No need for her to make a fuss. "Thank you very much!" Pete continued as the guests were applauding. "Um, I'd just like to say, er, thank you to you all, for coming on this er, this very special occasion. My wife's... thirty-ninth."  
No one really seemed to believe that.  
"Trust me on this...," he tried his best to entertain his guests and he wasn't bad at it. Quite a lot people in here really liked him, Mira noticed. "So, without any further ado - here she is. The birthday girl... my lovely wife... Jackie Tyler."

Jackie was coming down the stairs, dressed in a... Well. Nothing she would wear herself anytime soon, Mira decided. Not that she was as well stacked as Jackie.

"Now, I'm not giving a speech - that's what my parties are famous for, no work, no politics, just a few good mates and plenty of black-market whisky," Jackie said, now standing next to her husband. After a final applaud and laugh from their guests they mingled with them.

"You can't stay. Even if there was some way of telling them," the Doctor told Rose.

"Course I can't. I've still got my mum at home, my real mum. I couldn't just leave her, could I. It's just... they've got each other. Mum's got no one. "

"She's got you! Those two haven't!" he said and sighed. "All these different worlds, not one of them gets it right."

There was definitely some truth in it, Mira thought.

"Rose!" she heard Jackie suddenly yell. From up the stairs came a series of barking. "There's my little girl!" Jackie continued until finally a small dog came down the stairs, only to be picked up by Jackie. Great. In this universe Rose was one of these overbred, little barkers. She looked over to Rose. The expression on her face was just priceless, although she felt sorry for the girl. The Doctor didn't seem to bother that much as he just burst out laughing. "Sorry," he said as he had gathered himself again.

 **…**

Later she followed the Doctor as he was sniffing around. At least that was what they were here for. Rose was talking to her father.

"Oh, positronic interface," she said as they peered into a room with a blue glowing screen on a desk.

"Computer," the Doctor corrected her. Whatever. She closed the door behind her and waited with her hand on the door handle as the Doctor was scanning the screen with his Sonic device. She refused to think of it as a screwdriver. It was definitely one of the most advanced pieces of equipment she had ever seen, and that meant something for a life as long as hers.

"Anything interesting?" she asked, still keeping watch.

"I think so," he answered and a presentation started. It didn't take long until she got what this was all about.

"Oh bloody hell," she whispered. Not that humans had had the weirdest ideas before, and basically, if they would only do this to volunteers, it would have been their life, no matter if she personally agreed with it. But it didn't give the impression that they were searching for volunteers.

"This is the ultimate upgrade. Our greatest step into cyberspace," they heard a voice explaining the presentation.

"Upgrade? Well, that's certainly one way of looking at it...," she said. "They're not planning on _upgrading_ everyone on this planet?" She looked at the Doctor who had his eyes still on the screen and a horrified expression on his face.

"Cybus...," he just said, turned on his heels and was out.

"Wait!" She ran after him "What's with Cybus? They're behind it, obviously, but...," she trailed of. They were now back with the guests, and there was no need to stir everyone up.

"Rose!" he came to a halt and all three of them turned to the nearest window.

"Something's happening," Rose said, somehow out of breath. Now Mira could see it for herself. Huge robots were outside and heading for the building. They were as tall as the battle robots she knew from her universe – at least the ones in human form – but after she had seen the presentation she knew that this weren't robots.

"What are they?" Rose asked.

"Cybermen," the Doctor answered gravely. The next second they backed away from the windows, because the Cybermen didn't bother to open them or use the doors. They just smashed the glass and they were all bathed in a shower of glass splinters. She looked around. They were encircled. On the robots – Cybermen, there were no visible weapons, but that didn't have to mean anything. But one thing was for sure: She didn't have a weapon either. Not even a force-field to protect her and the others. Non of the other mutants, like Gucky, at her side, who was one of the best telekinetic people ever who would have just smashed these Cybermen. After making them turn two or three loopings beneath the ceiling.

"What are they? Robots?" Rose wanted to know.

"No. Unfortunately not," Mira whispered to her.

"Who were these people?" the President demanded.

 _Who would have guessed that?_

The President seemed to know what was going on. He was listening to an answer over his earpieces.

"They're people?" Rose asked, now turned to the Doctor.

"They were. Until they had all their humanity taken away. It's a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body. With a heart of steel. All emotions removed," he answered, the distaste and disgust clearly audible in his voice. And even a hint of pity for the poor souls.

"Why no emotions?" Rose asked. She really could ask questions, Mira noticed.

"Because it hurts," he just said. And he was right. There were no emotions. They were alive, somehow, more or less. But that was it. Alive. Vegetating. Intelligent but everything that had made them human, separated them from an AI, was gone.

"We have been upgraded," one of the Cybermen said in an electronic and somehow poorly modulated voice.

"Into what?" the Doctor had taken a step and was now standing next to her. She looked over to him and saw something in his eyes. A bit like the expression she had seen back at the swimming pool. Of course she had been further away then, but even then she had decided that she would never have him as an enemy.

"The next level of mankind. We are Human Point Two. Every citizen will receive a free upgrade. You will become like us," the Cybermen answered.

"Surely not," she whispered.

"Don't!" the Doctor said, grabbed her by her upper arm and shook his head warningly at her. Fine. It was pointless anyway, right now there was nothing they could do. Not even flee.

"I'm sorry," the President addressed the Cybermen. "I'm so sorry for what's been done to you." Well, a bit late for that, Mira thought. "But listen to me - this experiment ends. Tonight."

 _Oh yeah. Give them their bodies back, huh?_

She bit her lip not to say anything.

"Upgrading is compulsory," the Cyberman said unimpressed.

"And if I refuse?" the President asked. Mira shook her head slightly. No time for bravery now.

"Don't," the Doctor told him.

"What if I refuse?" the President was ignoring him.

"Don't! You're not exactly in the position to...," she tried it herself.

"What happens if I refuse?" If there had ever been anyone stubborn, than it was him.

"Then you are not compatible."

"What happens then?" Now the President sounded outright challenging, and that was also reflecting in his posture.

"You will be deleted," the nearest Cyberman announced and lifted his arm. He grabbed the President by the shoulder and she could see some sort of electric-blue lightnings. Dead by electrocution. Not her preferred way to die. Actually, second and right after burning to death on her personal list of ways how not to die. She obviously wasn't the only one with that opinion, for immediately panic broke out. People were screaming and running around blindly in fear with Cybermen killing everyone they could manage to touch. The agony of the dying persons echoed in her mind.

"Out!" she yelled and freed herself of the Doctor's grip. She grabbed Rose's hand and pulled the girl with her to one of the broken windows. There was nothing they could do in here. Not that it would have been much saver outside, but they had no choice. She expected to be greeted by gunfire or something, it would have been stupid to not encircle the building. But as said, no chance in here.

"Doctor!" Rose yelled and tried to free herself.

"There's nothing we can do!" he said and was suddenly ahead of them, as they jumped through the window frame.

"My mum's in there!" Rose pulled at her hand, but Mira didn't let go of her.

"She's not your mother! And we can't do anything to help the people in there!" she said to Rose.

"But..."

"Come on!" the Doctor yelled and took Rose by her other hand. They just started to run again, only to find a line of Cybermen not ten yards in front of them. She let go of Rose's hand and they changed direction to run around them. They were encircled, just as she had expected it. Right now, Pete leaped out of the window.

"Quick! Quick!" Rose called him. He ran over to them and they ran to the front of the house. She could now hear the stomping of the Cybermen everywhere. It was hopeless to escape by foot, for they had no idea how many of them were here. And how far they were scattered. And, most of all, how good their vision was in the dark. They had floodlights, hadn't they? So probably their vision wasn't that good at all. But who build robots – or casings – without infrared-vision?

"There's no way out!", the Doctor obviously came to the same conclusion.

"What do you know about them?" she asked hastily. "Their vision in the dark, to start with..."

"Don't know. Different universe. Anything's possible..."

"The side gates!" Pete said and they followed him. "Who are you? How do you know so much?" Pete asked as they were running.

"You wouldn't believe it in a million years...," the Doctor answered. They ran around a corner and skidded to a halt as another row of Cybermen was blocking their way. They changed direction once more as two figures came into sight. Two figures carrying guns.

"Who's that?" Rose yelled.

"Get behind me!" one of the figures said. He looked a bit like Mickey, but something was weird about him. Mira couldn't quite figure it out as they hurried to get behind them. They were firing at the Cybermen. At least they stopped marching, although it didn't seem to have any further effect on them.

"Oh my God, look at you...," Rose said and gave Mickey a big hug. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Yeah, no offence, sweetheart, but who the hell are you?" Mickey said, looking at her in bewilderment and pulling her away from him.

"Rose!" They all could hear and turned their heads. There was another Mickey. Obviously the right one this time. How did he get here? "That's not me. That's like... the other one."

"Oh, as if things weren't bad enough - there's two Mickey's!" the Doctor said.

"It's Ricky," the other Mickey said.

"Could we just spare that for later? I really don't want to rush, but...," Mira threw in. They were surrounded by now, bathed in dazzling floodlight which didn't make it any easier to see what was going on. "We're surrounded."

Ricky and Jake were raising their guns.

"Put the guns down. Bullets won't stop them," the Doctor said to them.

"Sure?" she asked as Jake and Ricky started to shoot.

"Yes! Stop shooting, now!" he yelled as he pushed Jake's gun aside angrily. "We surrender! Hands up...," he continued, now addressing the Cybermen. "... there's no need to damage us, we're good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade program. Take us to be processed."

Great. Mira looked around once more. No other options, obviously. They all raised their hands.

"You are rogue elements," one of the Cybermen said.

"What!?" Mira couldn't help herself.

"But we surrender," the Doctor tried it again.

"You are incompatible."

"But you strip us of any emotions, so what does it matter if we're rogue now? We surrender!" Mira tried to reason with them. They must listen to logic, mustn't they?

"You will be deleted."

"But we're surrendering! Listen to me, we surrender!" the Doctor said urgently.

"You are inferior. Man will be reborn as Cybermen but you will perish under maximum deletion." The Cybermen were raising their arms.

"Delete. Delete. Delete!"

* * *

 _Thanks to Queen of Supernatural Lovers, AxidentlGoddess, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, bored411 and Shan-OM for their reviews :-)_


	19. Chapter 19 - Age of Steel Pt 1

**Chapter XIX**

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor looked directly at the Cybermen. They still stuck to their policy of deletion, despite his and Mira's affords. She'd had a point there, he had to give her that, but the Cybermen obviously remained unimpressed. Fine. He had hoped to solve it without violence and destruction, but they had asked for it. He pulled the power cell out of his pockets and pointed it at the Cybermen. A short mental impulse was all it took – suddenly the Cybermen were all disintegrated into thin air by the stored power in the little crystal. The others – Mickey, Ricky, Jake, Pete, Rose and Mira stared at him in disbelief.

"That's some _power cell_ – where I come from we need extra weapons for that," Mira said dryly after a moment of silence.

"What the hell was that?" Ricky asked, not so dryly.

"We'll have that instead – RUN!" Oh these humans. Always asking so many questions - not always at the right moments. As they started running, a blue van drove around the corner, the driver hooting the horn.

"Everybody in!" the woman in the van shouted through the open window. Just as he was about to get into the van, Pete ran off – back to his house. "Pete!" he shouted and grabbed the other man by the arm.

"I've gotta go back, my wife's in there," Pete said in despair.

"Anyone inside that house is dead. If you wanna help, then don't let her die for nothing. You've gotta come with us right now," he said and looked at Pete. It was true. If Jackie was still inside there, she was dead. Actually, probably worse than dead in his opinion, but no need to tell that to Pete now. Finally, Pete nodded and went to the van.

"Come on, get a move on!" the driver called once more.

He had taken care of Pete, but Rose was still standing and staring at the house. She was the last one – besides him – who was still outside the car.

"Rose, she's not your mother," he said to her as he had walked over to her. She blinked and looked away from the house and into his eyes.

"I know," she said quietly.

"Come on," he said and took her by the hand. She grabbed it tightly and followed him.

"Finished chatting?! Never seen a slower getaway in my life!" the woman on the driving seat said as they all were finally into the van. She drove of with squealing tyres, leaving the rows of Cybermen behind.

"What was that thing?" Ricky repeated his question from earlier on, looking through the mesh between the driver´s cab and the back of the van.

"Little bit of technology from my home," he answered evasively. No need for further explanations, they wouldn't understand it anyway. Not that he didn't do it nevertheless every now and then (all right, maybe a bit more often than that), but sometimes he just got tired of it. They were always just looking at him as if he had spoken Gallifreyan. Not that it was their fault that they had gotten these tiny little brains – amazing brains, full of creativity and such - but that didn't help the fact that they would never understand Timelord technology. Well, maybe Mira would get at least the basic principles, but surely not Ricky.

"It's stopped glowing. Has it run out?" Mickey wanted to know.

"It's on a revitalising loop. It'll charge back up in about four hours," he answered and put the little power crystal back into his pockets.

"Right. So, we don't have a weapon anymore," Ricky stated.

"Yeah. Not so good," Mira said. He looked at her. Maybe he not only had to talk to Rose, but to her as well. About all this military thing. This was not his way of dealing with problems, at least not anymore. It has never been his way, it was just a short period in his live, out of sheer necessity.

"Yeah, we've got weapons. Might not be one of those metal things, but they're good enough for men like him," Jake pulled him out of his thoughts. He had obviously meant Pete.

"Leave him alone! What's he done wrong?" Rose instantly snapped at him with a scared tone in her voice.

"Oh, you know - just laid a trap that's wiped out the Government. And left Lumic in charge," Jake explained sarcastically.

"If I was part of all that, do you think I'd leave my wife inside?" Pete defended himself.

"Maybe your plan went wrong. Still gives us the right to execute you, though," Ricky fell in.

"Talk about executions, you'll make ME your enemy. And take some really good advice - you don't wanna do that." Now it was enough for him. They could throw accusations at each other as much as they wanted, but no one would execute anyone here. So many people had just lost their lives, and they were talking about killing even more. He was still staring at Ricky, who was obviously thinking about what to say.

"All the same... we have evidence that says Pete Tyler's been working for Lumic since 20.5.," Ricky said eventually.

"Is that true?" Rose asked after she had looked at Pete for a few moments. The Doctor looked at Mira. She just sat there, opposite of him and was silent the whole time, except for the remark regarding the weapons. Her face had again these expressionless Mona-Lisa like mask as she watched the others. He wondered what she made out of all this with her psychic senses.

"Tell 'em, Mrs M.," Ricky said as Pete remained silent, seemingly uncomfortable.

"We've got a government mole who feeds us information. Lumic's private files, his South American operations... the lot. Secret broadcasts twice a week," she said.

"Broadcast from Gemini?" Pete said.

"And how do you know that?" Ricky asked sceptically.

"I'm Gemini. That's ME," Pete said, somehow a bit desperate.

"Yeah, well you would say that," Ricky said. Well, he had a point there.

"He's telling the truth," Mira said casually. All heads swung around to her and for a moment no one spoke. Pete probably was surprised the most, because he didn't even know her – unless there was a Mira in this universe working with him somehow.

"Oh. Sorry. Old habits die hard," she said with a shy smile after she had looked – equally surprised – from one to the other.

"And how would you know that?" Jake asked her. But before she could answer, Pete continued.

"Encrypted wavelength six-five-seven using binary nine." Ricky and Jake were glancing at one another. "That's the only reason I was working for Lumic. To get information. I thought I was broadcasting to the Security Services, and what do I get? Scooby Doo and his gang. They've even got the van!"

"No, no, no! But the Preachers know what they're doing. Ricky said he's London's Most Wanted!" Mickey said confused.

"Yeah, that's not exactly...," Ricky started.

"Not exactly what?" Mickey insisted.

"I'm London's Most Wanted for... parking tickets," Ricky finally admitted. The Doctor smiled and Mira chuckled. Rose just raised her eyebrow. So, that was the great Ricky.

"Great." That was everything Pete had to say.

"They were deliberate! I was fighting the system! Park anywhere, that's me," Ricky said, defending himself.

"Good policy. I do much the same. I'm the Doctor, by the way, if anyone's interested..."

"Yeah, and I'm Mira."

"And I'm Rose. Hello!"

"Even better. That's the name of my dog. Still - at least I've got the catering staff on my side," Pete said with a defeted tone. The Doctor almost felt sorry for him. Well, he clearly did, for Jackie. But also for the rest.

"I knew you weren't a traitor," Rose said quietly to him.

"Why is everybody stating they knew? What's going on with you? We haven't met before!" Pete had enough, that was clear to hear.

"Oh... I...," Rose started. The Doctor looked at her intently.

"I just did," she finally said.

"And you?" Pete looked at Mira now.

"She is...," Rose started, but Mira interrupted her. The Doctor just shook his head. No need for that now.

"Um. Just a wild guess. I'm quite good at reading faces. There are certain small expressions that give it away no matter what. I'm a Psychologist," Mira said.

Pete looked at her for a few more seconds before he accepted her explanation and nodded. Maybe it was for the best, the Doctor thought. Humans were often a bit sceptical about psychic powers. At this time they most likely just wouldn't believe it, a few centuries earlier she would have been burnt at the stake.

"They took my wife," Pete said all of a sudden looking at Rose as if searching for help.

"She might still be alive," Rose tried to comfort him.

"That's even worse. 'Cos that's what Lumic does. He takes the living... and he turns them into those machines," Pete replied sadly.

"Cybermen," the Doctor said and all eyes turned to him. "They're called Cybermen. And I'd take those ear-pods off, if I were you." Pete looked a bit shocked and immediately gave the ear-pods to him. He deactivated them with his Sonic. "You never know... Lumic could be listening." He put the ear-pods away. "But he's overreached himself. He's still just a businessman. He's assassinated the President. All we need to do is get to the City and inform the authorities. Because I promise you - this ends tonight."

"The authorities? Yeah. They go to their secret store-rooms, get the plasma-rifles and kill all Cybermen?" Mira looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Really? I mean, Lumic knew the President was there. It was all planned. So he has the authorities in his hands as well. Either by bribing or threatening them."

"Any better idea?" he asked.

"Yeah. If you want something done properly, do it yourself. No need to rely on the authorities. Well, unless it's the Fleet or the USO."

"USO?" Ricky asked.

"United Stars Organisation. Never mind, doesn't exist anymore," she said. "What do you say, Doctor? Do we take this into our own hands or do we rely on the authorities of pre-space-flight Earth to fight off pretty much invincible Cybermen?"

He looked at her out of wide eyes. Slowly a smile was forming on his face. Maybe they had to talk about her methods, but not about the general approach.

"Who needs authorities?" he finally said, ignoring the irritated glances of the others. Well, the others except for Rose, who shot a not so nice glance at Mira.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira walked with the others along a street, watching all people marching towards the same destination. It wasn't that hard to figure out where to. Or at least, who was behind it.

"What the hell...?" Jake asked bewildered. Well, maybe it was not _that_ easy to figure out.

"What's going on?" Rose was also wondering.

"Lumic," she said.

"He has taken control," the Doctor clarified it. "It's the ear-pods."

"Can't we just... I dunno, take them off?" Rose asked.

"Yeah. How many people live in London? About eight million? Let's say, five seconds per person, makes something around..."

"Don't! Cause a brainstorm. Human Race - for such an intelligent lot, you aren't half susceptible. Give anyone a chance to take control and you submit. Sometimes I think you like it. Easy life," the Doctor said and hold Rose's hand because she was about to pull out the ear-pods of one of the passer-bys.

"Four-hundred and sixty-two days. Actually, a bit faster because we are more than just one person. But you get the point? And yes," she continued and turned to the Doctor, "Easy life. You got it. Freedom is actually quite arduous. But on the other hand, striving for making things easier has lead to some of the most outstanding inventions mankind has made so far. Everything has its good and bad side." He just stared at her. Oh hell. Yes, she could babble when it came to humanity. But it was her species, and basically she really liked them. They weren't that bad, she was even proud of some things and traits, even though there were times when she'd love nothing better than to launch them all into outer space. Figuratively in this case, of course. They really could drive her mad some times. "Anyway. Rose is right, we need to stop them."

"Hey," Jake waved at them. "Come and see." He and Ricky were peering around a corner, they joined them. A row of Cybermen was marching alongside the people. It almost seemed as if they were guarding them. Maybe in case if there were some without ear-pods among them. Some like their little group.

"Where are they all going?" Rose asked.

"I don't know. Lumic must have a base of operation," the Doctor said.

"Battersea. That's where he was building his prototypes," Pete pointed out. Mira looked at him. She still didn't quite get why Lumic was doing this. He was basically selling out his own species. Out of good intentions? Maybe. Or he could just be that mad. But that was not really a satisfying explanation.

"Why's he doing it?" she asked Pete after she had shaken violently with the cold. It was February and she was outside with a dress with short sleeves. She wasn't made for these temperatures. She was more into thirty degrees Celsius or something like that.

"He's dying. This all started out as a way of life by keeping the brain alive. At any cost," Pete answered.

"Oh well. And it's not enough that he's doing it to himself, at which I won't stop him because it's his brain and body, but to everyone else? These kind of people I like the most," she said.

"The thing is, I've seen Cybermen before, haven't I? That head - those handle shapes in Van Statten's museum," Rose said to the Doctor.

"Ah, there are Cybermen in our universe. They started on an ordinary world just like this, then swarmed across the galaxy. This lot are a parallel version, and they're starting from scratch right here on earth," the Doctor answered.

"What the hell are you on about?" Pete asked.

"Never mind that. Come on, we need to get out of the City," Ricky said. He was right about it, Mira thought. And apart from that, Cybermen were approaching. It just wasn't save here.

"Okay, split up - Mrs Moore, you look after that bloke. Jake, distract them, go right, I'll go left, we'll meet back at Bridge Street. Move," Ricky commanded before he ran off. Jake took the other direction.

"I'm going with him," Mickey said to Rose and kissed her, then he followed Ricky.

"Come on, let's go," Mrs Moore said to them. It was high time, the Cybermen were coming closer. They ran down the street until the Mrs Moore waved them behind a pile of rubbish and dustbins. They were crouching behind the pile, Rose clutching Pete's hand as if there would be no tomorrow. Mira was next to the Doctor, both listening for the Cybermen.

 _Keep moving. Don't look at the rubbish. Don't lo...Dammit._

Suddenly the Cybermen stopped. They were trapped. The next second the Doctor had his Sonic device in his hand and pointed it upwards in the direction of the Cybermen. She could hear a short bleep that almost caused her heart to stop, but the Cybermen just walked away. He turned is head to her – she hadn't been aware that she was staring at him from the side – and she looked into his deep, dark eyes. A shiver ran down her spine, but this time not because of the cold.

 _Not a good time now._

She looked at Rose and Pete as she listened for more Cybermen, but it was quiet.

"Go," the Doctor whispered and they carefully crept out from behind the dustbins and ran in the opposite direction. The didn't stop till they reached the crossroads where they had parted. A few minutes later Jake came back.

"I ran past the river. You should've seen it, the whole City's on the watch. Hundreds of Cybermen all down the Thames," he informed them. As he had finished, Mickey came along. Alone. Or was it Ricky? Hard to say, although his posture looked more like Mickey.

"Here he is!" Jake exclaimed. He was obviously expecting Ricky. There was something between the two of them, Mira had noticed. Mickey/Ricky came closer, but didn't say anything. Not good.

"Which one are you?" Jake asked confused.

"I'm sorry. The Cybermen. He couldn't...," Mickey/Ricky said.

 _Mickey. That's Mickey._

Now she was certain. Not that she could tell them apart on a psychic level, but his whole behaviour had Mickey written all over it. The other one had been more determined.

"Are you Ricky? _Are you Ricky_?" Jake obviously refused to believe that that was actually Mickey.

"Mickey, that's you, isn't it?" Rose asked and stepped over to Mickey.

"Yeah," he answered with a shaky voice and Rose threw her arms around him. There was not much need for asking about Ricky. Would he be captured, Mickey would have rushed to free him. For he didn't do that...

"He tried. He was running...," Mickey said now to Jake, who didn't reply and just turned away.

"There was too many of them," Mickey continued and walked after Jake.

"Shut it."

She could feel Jake's pain now, pain that was also only too visible on his face. She could feel hot tears forming in her eyes. It was exactly as if she had lost someone she loved right now. She bit her lip and tried to gather herself, tried to separate herself from Jake's feelings, and from her own as well. She had practice in doing so, but it wasn't easy. She wiped a tear off her cheek.

"There was nothing I could do," Mickey tried it again.

"I said just SHUT IT. Don't even TALK about him. You're NOTHING, you are," Jake spun around to Mickey, who had also tears in his eyes now. "Nothing," Jake said once more and turned away again.

"We can mourn him when London is safe. But now, we move on," the Doctor said calmly to Jake. Just the right thing, she thought. Normally it would have been on her to remind the others of that. At least most of the times. Way to often for her taste. Ricky had been so young, and all his life was over in an instant. So completely senseless. And she couldn't even blame the Cybermen for that. They were stripped of all emotions. They couldn't grasp how valuable every single life was. To them it was just resistance, something they had to deal with. Lumic was the one responsible for that. But even blaming and punishing him wouldn't bring Ricky back nor would it help Jake. Just as it had never brought anyone back who had died under her command.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor was walking down a slop which overlooked the river. The others were behind him and on the opposite bank was Battersea. It was a huge factory, Lumic's Zeppelin fastened at the rooftop.

"The whole of London's been sealed off, and the entire population's been taken inside that place. To be 'converted'," he said. He shook his head. He basically expected everything from humans, from completely stupid ideas to really genius behaviour, but that was a whole new level. Converting their own species willingly into Cybermen. On the other hand it was so human. Seemingly succeeding in fighting death and forcing it on everybody else. Immortality. The ultimate human dream. But what was life itself worth without emotions? Being trapped inside a metal suite? Only brain, almost no way to interact with the environment as humans – and he himself – was used to left? No touching, no body with all its needs and sensations?

"We've gotta get in there and shut it down," Rose said. She was now standing besides him. She seemed to be a bit more cooperative now, but he still needed to set a few things straight.

"We need a plan," Mira said, standing on his other side. All of a sudden he got a certain feeling of discomfort, being stuck in the middle of them.

"Plans are overrated. I'll think of something," he said.

"You're just making this up as you go along!" he heard Mickey behind him.

"Yuuuup," he said, popping the p. "But I do it brilliantly."

Meanwhile, Mrs Moore had her laptop out, a schematic on the screen.

"That's a schematic of the old factory. Look, cooling tunnels... underneath the plant... big enough to walk through," she said. He walked over to her, followed by the rest and they all sat down on the bench next to her. Everyone except Jake. He stood some distance away, apparently not really listening. The Doctor shot a short glance at him. He was worrying about him.

"We go under there and up into the control centre?" He said and turned his attention back to Mrs Moore. He had put on his glasses by now and peered at the screen.

"Hmm," Mrs Moore said.

"There's another way in," Pete threw in. "Through the front door. If they've taken Jackie for upgrading, that's how she'll get in..."

"We can't just go strolling up," Jake said angrily and walked over to them.

"Or, we could... with these...," Mrs Moore said and pulled out some ear-pods. The Doctor looked interested at her and took one. They were fake, and for that exactly what the needed now.

"Fake ear-pods. Dead. No signal. But put them on, the Cybermen would mistake you for one of the crowd," she informed the others.

"Then that's my job," Pete said. Of course. For Jackie.

"You'd have to show NO emotion. None at all. ANY sign of emotion would give you away," the Doctor said to him.

"How many of those have you got?" Rose asked.

"Just two sets."

"Okay. If that's the best way of finding Jackie... I'm coming with you," Rose said, got up and stood next to Pete.

"Why does she matter to _you_?" Pete asked, as confused as he had been in the van. Now the Doctor definitely felt sorry for him. Must be terrible not to know what's going on.

"We haven't got time. Doctor, I'm going with him, and that's that," Rose said gravely. That was her. His Rose. Always head first into trouble to save the ones she loved.

"No stopping you, is there?" he said and looked at her.

"Nope."

"Tell you what...," he said and threw the ear-pods to her, "We can take the ear-pods at the same time. Give people their minds back. So they don't walk into that place like sheep. Jakey-boy?" He lead Jake up the Hill to have a better look at Battersea.

"Lumic's transmitting the control signal, and it must be from over there...," he said and pulled out his Sonic. He scanned for the transmitter until the Sonic bleeped. "There it is... on the Zeppelin, see? Great big transmitter. Good thing Lumic likes showing off. Reckon you could take it out?"

"Consider it done," Jake said and finally smiled. Good.

"You can take Mira with you," he said to Jake, whose face immediately fell.

"I don't need anyone with me. She will just be in the way."

"Watch it, boy," he heard Mira say as she approached.

"No offence, but I don't need a psychologist," Jake said and turned around to her.

"Probably. But where I come from, I'm more a special agent, not so much a psychologist. It's merely a hobby."

The Doctor eyed her. Well, she didn't look very convincing right now, with her waitress-uniform and freezing in the cold night's air, and so was the expression on Jake's face. But she had taken out the battle-monk at Torchwood with her bare hands as the Queen had told, and that was quite an achievement.

"Fine," Jake sighed. It was clear that he didn't intend to take her with him. And even if, he would stroll off at the first opportunity. Well, Mira would handle it somehow, he had no doubt.

They walked back to the others.

"Mrs Moore... would you care to accompany me into the cooling tunnels?" he asked.

"How could I refuse an offer of cooling tunnels?" she answered with a slight smile. He nodded to her, also with a smile.

"We attack on three sides - above - between - below. We get to the control centre, we stop the conversion machines," he said to the others whilst taking his glasses of. He eyed them, and they seem to understand.

"What about me?" A voice, somehow off-stage. Oh. Mickey. He hadn't forgotten him, had he? Nah. He was still thinking about what Mickey could do. Um. Keep watch or something like that.

"Mickey! You can... ahm...," he started and scratched his neck. Well, that was a bit embarrassing. For him and Mickey.

"What, stay out of trouble? Be the tin dog? No, those days are over. I'm going with Jake and Mira," he said wilfully.

"I already have a psychologist. I don't need an idiot," Jake said.

"I'm not an idiot! You got that?!" Mickey suddenly yelled at Jake. "I'm offering to help," he continued, now calm again.

"Whatever," Jake said and started to walk away. Mickey followed him.

"Mickey?" the Doctor said and Mickey turned around once more.

"Good luck!"

"Yeah. You too. Rose, I'll see you later," Mickey replied.

"Yeah, you better," Rose said.

"If we survive this, I'll see you back at the TARDIS," the Doctor said to him with a slight smile and an intense look in his eyes.

"That's a promise," Mickey said and finally walked away.

"Yeah, good luck. I guess two are enough to sneak into a Zeppelin," Mira said.

"Sure?" he turned to Mira.

"Yes. Let me be a good psychologist and give them some time."

"Then you come with Mrs Moore and me?"

"Yeah, obviously. There are only two sets of ear-pods. I'm definitely not staying here. And you could use more hands in there."

"Fine," he said. She was right. Rose on the other hand didn't seem to like it, judging by the look in her eyes.

"Good luck you two," he said, nodded to Pete and gave Rose a big hug. He meant it, even though hugging her wasn't quite the same as it had been before the things she had said in the TARDIS. He still couldn't forget it.  
And neither Rose nor he saw that Mickey turned around once more, just to see that they were hugging each other. They parted ways, Rose and Pete with the ear-pods and he, Mira and Mrs Moore to the cooling tunnels.

* * *

 _Lucifae, 3rd Squad 10th Seat, bored411 and alwaystherereading : Thank you for reviewing :-)_


	20. Chapter 20 - Age of Steel Pt 2

**Chapter XX**

 _Mira's POV_

"So, how did you really know that Pete was telling the truth?"

Mira turned her head to Mrs Moore. She liked the other woman, there was a certain rationality and calmness in her voice and in her behaviour. A nice contrast to the youthful exuberance of Rose, Jake and Mickey. Finally someone who could considered to be an adult. Well, besides the Doctor. But, truth be told, she wasn't that sure when it came to him. In her opinion, he could either be incredibly old or incredibly young for his species. Or maybe a bit of both somehow.

Despite all that, Mrs Moore had preserved something light and girlish. There also was a dark side to her, and Mira could only guess what she had been through. But still, she hadn't given up.

"I told you," Mira answered eventually. She was hugging herself because it was still freezing cold. And cooling tunnels didn't sound much warmer.

"Sure, observation... But you sounded way more certain than that," Mrs Moore answered.

"Fine. Got me. I'm psychic. Not a telepath, but something like that. And you're a good observer yourself."

"Well... You have to be when you're working against Lumic."

She and Mrs Moore exchanged a smile. Mrs Moore believed her with that psychic explanation, and she didn't freak out. Well, she was a bit uncomfortable, but that was somehow understandable. The Doctor was walking in front of them. He didn't turn his head once, but Mira was sure he listened to every word that was spoken.

"Here we are!" he exclaimed as they reached a trap door.

"Yes, that's it," Mrs Moore confirmed. The Doctor put out his Sonic scanning-thing and the door unlocked with a quiet click. Mira peered down into the dark, but she could hardly see the ground. A ladder was leading into the dark. All three of them listened for a moment, but there was no sound down there. And also no living being, but that didn't have to mean anything. She couldn't really sense the Cybermen.

"Alright," she finally said. "I go first, then you Mrs Moore and then you, Doctor."

"You really are some sort of special agent?" Mrs Moore asked, her eyebrows raised.

"More a _Major_ of the Fleet," the Doctor answered in her stead.

"Yeah, whatever," she sighed. He could bring it up as often as he liked, if it was for her. If he wanted to tease or mock her, he had to think of something better. She swung her legs over the edge and climbed down the ladder. They were actually listening to her, Mrs Moore came after her and the Doctor formed the tail. A welcome change after Rose's behaviour. She stepped off the ladder and into the tunnel. She took two steps to give Mrs Moore and the Doctor room to leave the ladder as well.

"It's freezing here," Mrs Moore said.

"Well, it's a cooling tunnel," Mira replied quietly, trying to keep her teeth from chattering.

"Any sign of a light switch?" the Doctor's voice came from behind them.

"Can't see a thing. But I've got these...," Mrs Moore said with a laugh in her voice. She rummaged through her bag and came up with a light with a headband on it. "A device for every occasion...," she said as she gave it to him.

"Ooh!" the Doctor said cheerfully.

"Put it on," she encouraged him and produced another one and a medium sized torch. "I guess you best take the torch, if you want to walk first in line," she said to Mira. She took it and Mrs Moore put the other light on her head.

"Haven't got a hot dog in there, have you? I'm starving," the Doctor asked with a look at Mrs Moore's bag. She laughed again.

"Of all the things to wish for! That's mechanically recovered meat!"

Mira only pulled a face. Hot dog. Now.

"I know. It's the Cyberman of food - but it's tasty," the Doctor replied. She wondered once more about his weird sense of humour.

"Let's see where we are," he said and Mira switched on the torch. She turned it so that the light was shining in the tunnel in front of her – only to see it reflected by silver surfaces. Cybermen.

"Out!" she said in an instant, without screaming or any sign of panic in her voice. The whole dammed tunnel was full of Cybermen. Motionless Cybermen, but who knew how long? She waved to the ladder as a sign for the other two to climb up again.

The Doctor didn't move, just looked at the Cybermen.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked. Mrs Moore was also indecisive and looked between the ladder and the Doctor.

"Already converted, just paralysed. Come on!" the Doctor said quietly, reached past Mrs Moore and gave Mira a slight nudge in the back. She was blocking the rather narrow tunnel, so he couldn't get past her that easily. But was there a tiny hint of insecurity in his voice? She looked sharply at him, trying not to blind him with her torch. Now her empathy would have come in handy. But besides the short contacts they had made by now, she still didn't get any emotions from him. Probably he was really blocking her actively.

"Fine," she said eventually and walked on, carefully avoiding the Cybermen on her left side. She immediately turned around as she heard a slight knocking sound.

"Are you mad?" she asked the Doctor bewildered as he tapped one of the Cybermen on the nose. Well, at least where the nose should have been.

"Why?"

"You're not afraid to wake them up?"

"Nah, this won't wake them up. Well, most likely. Probably," he said, pulling at his earlobe. She sighed, turned around again and walked on. The faster they got out here, the better.

"Let's go slowly. Keep an eye out for trip systems," she heard him behind her. Great. She let the circle of light coming from her torch glide over the floor. There seemed to be nothing. Nothing visible at least.

"How did you get into this, then? Rattling along with the Preachers?" the Doctor behind her was asking Mrs Moore.

"Oh, I used to be ordinary. Worked at Cybus Industries. '95. 'Til one day, I find something I'm not supposed to. A file on the mainframe. All I did was read it. Then suddenly, I've got men with guns knocking in the middle of the night. Life on the run. Then I found the Preachers. They needed a techy, so I... I just sat down and taught myself everything."

Techy, Mira thought with a smile on her face. That fitted.

"What about MR Moore?" the Doctor wanted to know.

"Well, he's not called 'Moore'. I got that from a book, 'Mrs Moore'. It's safer not to use real names. But he thinks I'm dead. It was the only way to keep him safe. Him and the kids. What about you two? Got any family, or...?"

It was somehow clear she didn't want to talk about it. It must have been really hard to leave her life behind, her husband and even her children, to keep them safe.

"No, no family of my own. Was married once, sort of. But that's a long, long time ago," Mira answered without looking back.

"Can't be that long, can it? You look quite young. How old are you? Twenty five?" Mrs Moore asked.

"Thirty," Mira answered.

"Oh. Wouldn't have guessed that. What's about you, Doctor?"

"Oh, who needs family? I've got the whole world on my shoulders," he said.

"So, and the two of you?" Mrs Moore said, a certain tone in her voice.

"What's with us?" the Doctor asked oblivious.

"You're a couple now?"

"What?" Now Mira turned around and lowered the torch. The Doctor was also staring at Mrs Moore. How did she got that idea? Was it really that obvious? Not that there was anything to be obvious. No wonder Rose was on edge like that.

"Well... I just thought. It wasn't really obvious, just some looks and such. But I see, I was wrong." she said with a knowing smile on her face. She didn't believe them, that was clear to feel for Mira.

"Yeah, quite so. Go on then - what's your real name?" the Doctor asked, still a bit baffled.

"Angela Price. But don't tell a soul!"

"Not a word," the Doctor said solemnly.

"Never," Mira hurried to say.

"So, what sort of Fleet did he mean?" Mrs Moore asked Mira.

"A Space Fleet. A rather huge one," she answered, again without looking back.

"Space Fleet... So, for Earth obviously doesn't have a fleet like that, you're an alien?"

"Nope."

"That would be me," the Doctor said behind Mrs Moore.

"Oh, right. The little device from your homeworld," Moore said with a hint of disbelief in her voice. For the next seconds they walked in silence.

"Doctor? Did that one just move?" Mrs Moore said all of a sudden anxiously. Mira held in her track and looked firmly at the Cybermen. If they were waking up now it would be way beyond bad.

"It's just the torchlight. Keep going, come on," the Doctor said, but he sounded as he didn't really believe it himself.

"Oh holy shit." The one in front of Mira did just definitely turn.

"They're waking up – RUN!" the Doctor shouted. No need to tell that twice, she thought. The end of the tunnel was close, but there still were a lot of Cybermen between them and their way out. Just as the Cybermen began to march forward they reached the ladder on the other end of the tunnel. The Doctor shoved past her and hurried up the ladder. There he scrambled to open the trapdoor.

"Get up! Quick! They're coming!" Mrs Moore yelled, halfway up the ladder just as Mira herself. The Doctor pulled the Sonic out of his pockets and finally managed to unlock the door.

"Hurry!" Mira said, looking at the first Cybermen who had reached the ladder and were raising their arms up to them.

The Doctor pushed the door open, hurried to get up and then pulled Mrs Moore out of the tunnel, almost as if she didn't weigh anything.

"Quick! Quick!" Mrs Moore yelled.

"Come on! Come on!" the Doctor hurried as he grabbed Mira´s wrist and pulled her up just like Mrs Moore a few seconds earlier. Not a moment to late, for the Cybermen were halfway up the ladder now. They slammed the door shut and the Doctor sealed it.

"Oh, good team, Mrs Moore and Mira!" he said cheerfully with a huge grin on his face as she herself and Mrs Moore were still catching their breath.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

They were in another part of the tunnels and the Doctor had almost dared to hope they were safe from the Cybermen for now – but of course, as always, right as he was thinking it another one came round a corner.

"You are not upgraded." he roared. He was about to shove Mira and Mrs Moore behind him, as the blond woman suddenly threw something at the Cybermen.

"Yeah? Well, upgrade THIS," she said as the little device stuck at the metal suite. Almost instantly some sort of energy seem to run through the Cyberman. It shook violently and finally fell to the floor.

"What the hell was that thing?!" he asked delighted and smiled at Mrs Moore.

"Electromagnetic bomb. Takes out computers, I figured it might stop the cyber-suit," she answered as they were approaching the body.

"You figured right. Now, let's have a look...," he said and crouched down. He scanned the body with his Sonic and then unlocked the chest plate.

"Now... know your enemy... and the logo on the front... Lumic's turned them into a brand," he murmured as he removed it. Mrs Moore was on his right and Mira on his left side, both watching what he was doing. They were now able to see in the inside of the Cyberman. "Heart of steel... but look..." There was some tissue inside it. Wiring it together.

"Is that flesh?" Mrs Moore asked.

Hmmm... central nervous system. Artificially grown then threaded throughout the suit so it responds like a living thing. Well, it IS a living thing. Oh, but look...," he said as he had pulled out some of the tissue and watched it closely.

"Doctor...," he heard Mira say.

"A moment. What's that?" He carefully touched some sort of electronic chip.

"Doctor!" she said again. Her voice sounded somehow brittle, he noticed.

"Emotional inhibitor. Stops them feeling anything," he continued, totally captured by his discovery.

"But... why?" Mrs Moore asked.

"It's still got a human brain... imagine its reaction if it could see itself. Realise itself inside this thing. They'd go insane...," he explained.

"So they cut out the one thing that makes them human," Mrs Moore said bewildered.

"Because they ha...," he started.

"DOCTOR!" Now he felt Mira's hand on his lower arm. She grabbed it almost painfully tight.

He finally turned his head to her – and was shocked. There were tears running down her cheek and an expression of pain in her face and in her eyes. "He's still alive. This inhibitor thing.. I guess it's broken. He's dying," she said and gently touched the arm of the Cyberman. In vain, of course. He couldn't feel anything.

"Why am I cold?" he suddenly asked.

"Oh, my God," Mrs Moore whispered and looked from Mira to the Cyberman and back.

The Doctor himself looked horrified at the Cyberman. He hadn't wanted that, really. Now he was touching him either. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he said sincerely.

"Why so cold?" the Cybermen asked again. Next to him he could hear Mira sobbing.

"Can you remember your name?" he asked.

"Sally. Sally Phelan."

"You're a woman...," Mrs Moore said.

"Where's Gareth?" the Cyberman wanted to know.

"Who's Gareth?" Mira asked, still stroking the arm of Sally.

"He can't see me. It's unlucky the night before."

"You're getting married," Mira managed to say.

"I'm cold. I'm so cold."

"Sorry. You sleep now, Sally. Just go to sleep," he said. There was nothing he could do to help Sally, but to put an end to her suffering. He pointed the Sonic inside her suit until the blue lights inside it went out.

"Sally Phelan didn't die for nothing." Then it suddenly hit him. "'Cos that's the key. The emotional inhibitor - if we could find the code behind it, the cancellation code, then feed it throughout the system into every Cyberman's head..." Mrs Moore nods and he looked back at Mira. "They'd realise what they are..."

"And what happens then?" Mrs Moore asked.

"I think it would kill them.," he said quietly. "Could we do that?" He searched in Mira's face for an answer. Now there was an expression on her face that was almost frightening. If at times she seemed so young, now he could see every single year she had lived in her eyes. And there was a hardness in her face that came out of knowing that there was no right choice now. "We have to," she said slowly and determined. "There is nothing else we can do. Aside from leaving them as they are, allowing them to convert everyone on this planet."

He still looked at her. He didn't want to do that and that must have shown on his face, because she continued, "One of these days, huh? Where everything you can do is bad. No right choices."

"She's right," Mrs Moore said softly and stood up. He was looking back at the body of the Cyberman that once was Sally Phelan.

"NO!" Mira suddenly screamed and his head flung around. Another Cyberman had shown up, touched Mrs Moore at the shoulder and killed her. She fell to the floor as Mira and he jumped up.

"No! No! You didn't have to kill her!" he cried in horror. He took Mira's hand and pulled her close, to not take the chance that she would attack the Cyberman. But gladly she didn't seem to think about anything like that. She just clung to his hand and stared at the dead body of Mrs Moore.

"Sensors detect a binary vascular system," the Cyberman said and turned his head slightly to Mira. "and abnormal brain structure. You are unknown upgrades. You will be taken for analysis." More Cybermen were approaching to lead them away. He followed, still holding Mira's hand. They had no other choice, and they weren't about to kill them. At least not right now, he had no illusions about the kind of analysis they were about to perform on them. But that also meant that they still had a chance to stick to their plan. Deactivate the emotional inhibitor. Put an end to this. He looked over to Mira. She was walking at his side, staring into space. He worried about what would happen to her if suddenly every Cybermen was able to feel again, to see what they had become. Empathy could really be a curse. She could surely handle a few if she knew what was about to happen, but here were hundreds of them. Maybe he could build some sort of hypnotic block in her mind, disabling her abilities temporarily, but for that he would need a few seconds of concentration.

"You won't succeed, you know that?" he said. The Cybermen ignored him. As if he had expected anything else. "There are others. Friends of mine. They will rescue us." Still no response. But Mira had turned her head and looked at him. He was almost afraid that he would see fear and resignation in her eyes, but it was just the opposite. They were still red from crying, but there was a bright spark of fighting spirit and certainty in them. Maybe everything wasn't lost by now. She was as far from giving up as anyone could be, and he felt new hope in himself. Humans. Some of them never gave up.

Finally, they reached some sort of control room. In it were a lot of Cybermen and – Rose and Pete. So much for that. They looked at him somehow apologetic.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. But they got Jackie," Rose said sadly.

"We were too late. Lumic killed her," Pete said.

"Well then." he raised his voice and let go of Mira's hand. "Where is he? The famous Mr Lumic? Don't we get the chance to meet our Lord and Master? " He looked around.

"He has been upgraded," one of the Cybermen answered.

"So he's just like you?"

"He is superior. The Lumic Unit has been designated Cyber Controller."

A door slid open and they all turned their heads. That must be Mr Lumic. He really was a Cyberman himself, sitting on a gigantic chair, covered with wires and tubes.

"This is The Age of Steel and I am its Creator," he announced.

Before the Doctor could say anything, he saw Mira stiffening out of the corner of his eye. A moment later they all could here the screams. The Cybermen looked around, obviously not sure what to make of it.

"That's my friends at work. Good boys! Mr Lumic, I think that's a vote for free will." It seemed that Mickey and Jake were successful and the ear-pods were disabled. Not everything went wrong.

"I have factories waiting on seven continents. If the ear-pods have failed, then Cybermen will take humanity by force. London has fallen. So shall the world," Lumic said, apparently not convinced of the concept of free will. "I will bring peace to the world. Everlasting peace - and unity - and uniformity."

"You're a traitor. You sold out your own people," Mira spat at him with such passion that the Doctor could only stare at her in amazement. "What did they promise you for that, hm? Eternity? Trust me, it's bad enough as it is, even with a real body and not converted into an abomination like that."

"You should listen to her," he fell in. "You just despised everything that's human. Like imagination. What about that? The one thing that lead you here. Imagination - you're killing it, dead!"

"What is your name?" Lumic asked.

"I'm the Doctor."

"A redundant title. Doctors need not exist. Cybermen never sicken."

"Yeah, but that's it! That's exactly the point!" he said enthusiastically and stepped forward. He shook his head in despair and continued, "Oh, Lumic, you're a clever man... I'd call you a genius, except I'm in the room. But everything you've invented, you did to fight your sickness. And that's brilliant. That is SO human. But once you get rid of sickness and mortality, then what's there to strive for? Eh? The Cybermen won't advance. You'll just stop! You'll stay like this forever. A metal Earth with metal men and metal thoughts. Lacking the one thing that makes this planet so ALIVE. PEOPLE. Ordinary, stupid, brilliant people."

"You are proud of your emotions?" Lumic asked.

"Oh, yes."

"Then tell me, Doctor - have you known grief - and rage - and pain?"

"Yes. Yes, I have."

"And they hurt?"

"Oh yes," the Doctor said, now suddenly serious.

"I could set you free. Would you not want that? A life without pain?"

"This is not setting free," Mira fell in. "That's merely vegetating. What will you do with all the years you have won now? Every minute just like the other, no ups, no downs, just an endless stream of time, an eternity, spent as a living dead? What for?" She was now standing next to him. He looked at her in admiration, before he turned his attention back to Lumic.

"Your talking is pointless," the leader of the Cybermen said now to Mira. "What do you say, Doctor? Will you be free?"

"You might as well kill me," he answered determined.

"Then I take that option," Lumic said unimpressed.

"It's not yours to take. You're a CYBER controller. You don't control me or anything with blood in its heart," he yelled at Lumic.

"You have no means of stopping me. I have an army. A species of my own."

He put his head in his palms. He could as well try to reason with a computer. "You just don't get it, do you? An army's NOTHING. 'Cos those ordinary people - they're the key." What was that? He turned his head. Oh, brilliant. A security camera. "The most ordinary person could change the world." He just hoped that it was linked to Lumic's Zeppelin. It must be, it was his mobile control room. "Some ordinary man or woman... some _idiot_..," he continued and walked through the room as he was talking. "All it takes is for him to find, say, the right numbers... say, the right codes... say, for for example, the code behind the emotional inhibitor. The code right in front of him. 'Cos even an _idiot_ knows how to use computers these days." Time. That was all he needed now. And a quick thinking Mickey. "Knows how to get past firewalls and passwords... knows how to find something encrypted in the Lumic Family Database, under... what was it, Pete? Binary what?" He nodded over to Pete. After a second of looking at him in confusion, Pete got it.

"Binary 9."

"An IDIOT could find that code. The cancellation code. And he'd keep on typing. Keep on fighting." He looked in the camera intently. Well, there was still the problem with the Cybermen suddenly realising what they were and Mira. Couldn't be helped now, he hoped that she would just pass out at worst. No stroke or brain damage or something like that. "Anything to save his friends...It's good to have friends. Friends like her, for example." He walked over to Mira, hugged her and whispered in her ear, "You'll be alright?" He led go of her and she nodded at him. Well, let's hope for the best.

"Your words are irrelevant." Lumic finally seemed to have enough.

He grinned at him. "Talk too much, that's my problem. Lucky I got you that cheap tariff, _Rose_. For all our long chats. On your PHONE." He glanced to the camera once more and Rose did the 'phone' sign.

"You will be deleted," Lumic stated.

"Yes, delete, control, _hash_ , all those lovely buttons," he said, still talking to the camera. "Then of course, my particular favourite – SEND." He gestured pressing a button to the camera. "And let's not forget how you seduced all those ordinary people in the first place." Rose's phone beeped. "By making every bit of technology compatible with everything else..." He strolled over to one particular computer.

"It's for you," Rose said and threw the phone to him.

"Like this!" He shoved the phone into a slot on the computer. Suddenly all hell broke loose as the Cybermen got their feelings back. They all started to scream in their electronic voices, grabbing their heads in pain. He looked for Mira. She had stumbled backwards against a wall and was now sitting on the floor, her head on her knees and hands over her ears. With a few long steps he was crouching in front of her. "Mira! Look at me!" She didn't react. He took a quick look around. It had been only seconds since he had deactivated the inhibitor, and Lumic seemed to be still in shock. He turned his head back to her and carefully placed his fingertips on her temples. Not ideal to do it in a rush, but at worst it just wouldn't work at all. Too bad he still didn't knew exactly how her psychic abilities were working. He closed his eyes and the next second he was in her mind. No time to be careful. He was almost overwhelmed by all the pain she was feeling, pain that was coming from the Cybermen. He tried to block it out, imagining a wall that shut out all the emotions that were reaching her brain and at the same time isolating her psychic senses, so that she couldn't reach them any more. It was crude and rushed, but it seemed to work. He opened his eyes and looked directly into hers. She had lifted her head, a look of utter surprise on her face. He lowered his hands and pulled her to her feet. No time for explanations now.

"What have you done?" he heard her say.

"Later!"

"What have you done?" That was Lumic now. Why did everybody want something from him?

"I gave them back their souls. They can see what you've done, Lumic! And it's killing them," he yelled over the screams of the Cybermen. Pete and Rose were almost out of the room by now, and so he followed, pulling Mira with him. She still seemed to be a bit dizzy, but at least she could walk.

"Delete! Delete! Delete!" he heard Lumic shout behind him.

Outside the control room the chaos was even worse. Cybermen were stumbling around everywhere, holding their heads until they exploded. He was desperately looking for a way out. Fire had broken out on various locations, and every now and then he could hear the blast of a detonation. He tried a door, but there where even more wailing Cybermen. He slammed it shut again.

"There's no way out!" he said to the others. Pete was looking around hastily, Mira seemingly was gathering herself more and more, yet he still didn't dare to let go of her hand. Rose had her phone on her ear.

"It's Mickey. He says 'head for the roof'," she yelled over the noise. He didn't hesitate and ran up the stairs, carefully avoiding the flames from the ongoing explosions. Against all odds they finally managed to reach the ladder the roof. A perfect trap if Rose had been wrong. They all went up, leaped over the wall and then he saw the Zeppelin. Brilliant.

"Mickey, where'd you learn to fly that thing?!" Rose yelled into the phone. They where running towards the Zeppelin, as suddenly a ladder was thrown down.

"You've got to be kidding. Rose, get up!" he said and waved towards the ladder. "Mira, up with you!" As both of them were climbing up and Pete was right behind him, he got up himself, followed by Pete. Now the air was filled with smoke and most of the facility was in flames.

The Zeppelin started to ascent and he almost thought that they would make it – then the ladder was suddenly jerked downwards. He looked down and saw Lumic hanging onto the bottom rungs. Certainly not. He reached for his Screwdriver. "Pete! Take This!" he shouted and let it fall as Pete looked up and held his hand out. After a second of holding his breath he saw the Sonic landing safely in Pete's hand. "Use it! Hold the button down! Press it against the rope - just do it!"

Pete did as he was told. "Jackie Tyler - this is for her!"

The Doctor could see Lumic climbing up the ladder and for a moment it seemed as if he would make it – then the rope finally snapped and Lumic fell back into the flames with a last, desperate scream.

He looked up. Rose and Mira were looking down, especially the latter of them both with a not so happy expression on her face.

"Don't look down!" he said to her. Well, at least Rose already had some experience with Zeppelins and ropes. Finally they started to climb up and got safely into the Zeppelin.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

To Mira, everything since the moment when the Cybermen had 'woken up' had seemed as if covered in fog. She had felt their agony, their pain and their suffering. The madness that was rolling over them and that had threatened to engulf her as well. She had tried to brace herself for it, although she had known that she most like wouldn't stand a chance. And she was right. But then something – or more likely, someone – had crashed into her mind. Had pushed back forcefully all the overwhelming feelings, erecting a wall around certain parts of her brain, preventing her to access them, and shutting them off of everything from the outside. The next thing she remembered was looking into intense, dark eyes and the Doctor pulling her to her feet.

She had tried to reach these parts of her mind as they had made it into the Zeppelin, tried to use her psychic senses, but it was as if running against a wall with full speed or touching a high voltage power line, so she hadn't tried it again. She knew it was some sort of hypnotic block, she'd had things like that in her mind before, but this was different. Way stronger and more powerful than anything she had ever experienced so far. Something foreign and highly irritating. There had been people – humans - with hypnotic abilities in the mutant-corps, really good ones, but none of them had been able to block her own abilities like that. How long did it take him? Seconds? And it was horrible. Everyone around her seemed like a walking corpse to her, for she no longer got anything from them besides what her normal senses told her. They seemed dead, flat, two dimensional now. And so she herself felt. Empty and hollow. Everything she did now happened more or less automatically. She jumped of the Zeppelin with the others as Mickey had piloted it close to the ground where they had left the van. Jake drove them back to the TARDIS in a hurry, before anyone could stop them. The whole city was in turmoil. But it seemed to be over. The Cybermen all gone, Earth safe once more. As they had reached the TARDIS she looked around for the Doctor. Hopefully he was as good in removing this block as he had been in building it.

"Come," she suddenly heard his soft voice next to her.

She followed him into the TARDIS, whilst the others stayed outside. Jake and Mickey had driven off again to get something. She closed the door and saw the Doctor hurrying to the console, plugging the little crystal in it. Instantly the lights went on again and the constant humming filled the air – this time she could only hear it. In her head there was nothing. The Doctor smiled for a moment and looked around as the TARDIS came back to live. Then he looked at her and suddenly his expression got serious again. Well, she could imagine how she looked like now. Totally drained, to put it nicely.

"I'm so sorry," he said and walked over to her. "But there was no other way, really."

"I know," she said. "And I'm really grateful. But would you mind...? Please." Not that she wanted him in her head right now. Now that she had nothing to oppose him. Although, she doubted she could do so even if she was in full possession of her psychic abilities. She didn't know if she had tried to fight him earlier, but even if so, it hadn't stopped him for a second.

"Sure," he said quietly, took another step towards her, lifted his arms and touched her temples gently with his fingers. She flinched slightly at his touch. He closed his eyes and instantly she felt his presence in her mind, washing over her like a wave. This time it wasn't forcefully at all, but carefully and almost gently. She could feel how the fog around her brain lifted and the wall which hadn't been a part of her and felt like a foreign matter dissolved. As that happened and her own power slowly came back she began to feel and see his psychic energy. She subconsciously began to adapt her own brainwaves to it and before she really knew it, she did not only feel him inside her head, but also realised that it would be just one step for her to enter his mind. A step she had almost instinctively taken.

 _That was close._

Suddenly his presence faded and with it the wide open gate to his mind that had laid right in front of her.

"See?" he said softly and took his hands of her temples. She opened her eyes – she hadn't even realised that she had also closed them - and looked right in his face. She almost gasped as she saw the expression there. It was melancholic, longingly and something else so foreign that she just couldn't determine it. Right now she would have sworn that his eyes were pure black. Maybe it was just due to the light in the console room...

"Well," he said and cleared his throat. "Let's get the others. There's only power for about five minutes." Before she could say anything he had turned on his heals and walked out the door. She followed him after a moment.

Outside were Pete and Rose.

"I've only got five minutes of power... we've gotta go," the Doctor said as he jogged over to Rose and Pete.

"The Doctor could show ya...," Rose said to Pete.

"Thank you. For everything," Pete said confused. Mira didn't need to see the tears in Rose's eyes to know what was going on, now that she had back her empathy.

"Dad," Rose finally said to Pete. Oh hell. Didn't make saying goodbye easier.

"Don't. Just... just don't," Pete said and walked away. She looked over to the Doctor who scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. At this moment, Jake and Mickey came running over, Mickey carrying a pack of clothes.

"Here it is! I found it. Not a crease," he said triumphantly and handed it to the Doctor.

"My suit! Good man!" he said to Mickey. "Now then, Jake - we've gotta run. But one more thing; Mrs Moore. Her real name is Angela Price. She's got a husband out there. And children. Find them. Tell them how she died saving the world."

"Yeah, course I will," Jake said solemnly.

"Off we go, then!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Uh... thing is, I'm staying," Mickey said. He was serious, as serious as one could be.

"You're doing what?" the Doctor asked startled.

"You can't," Rose said shocked.

"It sort of balances out, 'cos this world lost its Ricky. But there's me. And there's work to be done with all those Cybermen still out there," Mickey said with a trembling voice.

"But you can't stay," Rose tried it again.

"Rose, my gran's here. She's still alive. My old gran - remember her?" Mickey said to her. Rose was desperately trying to hold her tears back now – and Mira was already crying with her. Dammit. One of these days... She definitely had had more self control than right now. Well, who could blame her, she thought, after all this. But going back to being that numb as she had been a few minutes ago? Never. The Doctor had been right. Emotions, all of them, belonged to life. The good ones, the bad ones, even the ones of others. Thankfully, not everything in life was about goodbyes and tears.

"She NEEDS me," Mickey said to Rose.

"What about me? What if I need you?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, but Rose... you don't. It's just you and him, isn't it?" Mickey looked over to the Doctor, who got even more uncomfortable, if that was possible. "We had something a long time ago, but... not anymore."

"Well.. we'll come back. We can travel anywhere, come and see you, yeah?" Rose was clearly desperate now. Mira felt honestly sorry for her. She didn't deserve this, despite her behaviour. It was hard to realise what someone meant to you if you're about to lose him.

"We can't. I told you, travel between parallel worlds is impossible. We only got here by accident. We... we fell through a crack in time. When we leave... I've got to close it. We can't ever return," the Doctor said to him. Yeah, this again. Universes sealed off and stuff.

"Doctor." Mickey said and shook his hand.

"Take Rose's phone. It's got the code. Get it out there. Stop those factories," the Doctor said to him. "And good luck. Mickey the Idiot." He grinned at Mickey, slapped his cheek lightly and went off to the TARDIS.

"Watch it!" Mickey said after him.

"Well then," Mira looked at Mickey. "Goodbye I guess. And good luck." She also shook his hand – hugging in front of Rose would have been a bit to much.

"Yeah. Was a lot of fun, wasn't it?" he said and smiled at her.

"Yes. Definitely," she smiled back. He would make his way, she was sure of that. No more Mickey the Idiot. She hurried after the Doctor into the TARDIS.

After a few moments Rose also came, drenched in tears. Mira sighed. She would really like to comfort her now, but that was maybe not the best of all ideas. Nevertheless, something had happened with Rose in this parallel universe. Not only that she had lost Mickey, but something else inside her has changed. But only time could tell what would be the outcome of this. The Doctor looked at her sadly, then pulled a lever and the TARDIS engines came to life.

* * *

 _alwaystherereading : I´m 32, and yes, I´m from Germany :-)_

 _10th Squad 3rd Seat : Sorry for changing your nick ;)_

 _time-twilight, bored411 and lucifae : Thank you for your reviews. :-)_


	21. Chapter 21 - Aftershocks

**Chapter XXI**

 _Rose's POV_

She had tried to stop crying as she had gotten into the TARDIS, but it hadn't worked. She was not only crying about herself, but also because it had suddenly hit her how she had treated Mickey. She had gotten a hint of that feeling earlier, as he had ran off to see his gran. Maybe they hadn't been together anymore, and maybe she had failed to see it, but he was one of her oldest friends. And now he was gone, left behind in another universe that she would never reach again, if the Doctor was right.

She was sitting on the jump seat now and watched him as he programmed the TARDIS, pulled a lever and the old time ship came to life with her distinct whooshing-sound. Mira stood leaning against the handrails and looked at her with a compassionate expression in her face. Rose didn't even find it in her now to shot her another hateful glance. Maybe the other woman had been right. She wasn't a hateful person, and most certainly not now. She just felt empty and tired.

She turned her head to the Doctor again, who was studying the screen. "Oh yes!" he suddenly exclaimed, smiling widely and almost jumped. "We made it. We're back home!" He looked around, first to Mira and then to Rose, his smile slowly fading. Rose at least tried to smile back, but failed miserably. Slowly, he walked over to her and sat down beside her. She turned her head to where Mira had been standing, but she was gone now.

She didn't dare to look at the Doctor, so she stared on the little glass-ball on the console. Her heart was pounding in her chest so madly that she was sure he could hear it. She anxiously waited for him to say something, and at the same time she prayed he would remain silent. She was scared that he would throw her out of the TARDIS now, take her back to Jackie, back to her old life, back to a life without Mickey and without him. That he would never return for her like he did with Sarah Jane. That he would stay with _her_ in the TARDIS, live a long and happy life even after she herself was long dead. And somehow it had been all her fault. She wasn't even sure by now if she would really have told him anything about Mira to make him throw her out of the TARDIS.

Besides that, she'd had some time to think as she was heading for Pete's Home. Walking through a London that wasn't her London. Imagining how it must be to be stuck here forever, with no real place to call home. All alone. Suddenly the other woman had become a little bit more than just some annoying problem that she would want to get rid of. She wouldn't go so far to feel real sympathy for her, but it had become way more complex by now.

"Do you still want to go home?" she heard the quiet voice of the Doctor next to her. She had expected a lot, a lecture, accusations, anger, but surely not that. She turned her head and looked at him in surprise.

"I don't know. I... I want to see my mum, I guess...," she said carefully and sniffed, studying the look on his face. He was eyeing her as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. Maybe he did. Suddenly she couldn't hold back her tears anymore. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it, honestly." she sniffed as she covered her face with her hands. She could feel his arm around her shoulder and how he pulled her closer. Now she was crying without restraint, clinging to him and soaking the white shirt he was still wearing with her tears. After am moment he moved her away a bit.

"Rose, look at me."

She opened her eyes and found his face in front of her.

"It's okay, Rose. I forgive you. But just this once. Don't _ever_ try to use me like that again, do you understand?"

She could just nod at him. It was as if a bunch of rocks were falling from her heart. She sobbed and he pulled her closer once again, comfortingly rubbing her back.

"Now let's go see Jackie then, hm?"

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira had finally went to her room as soon as the Doctor had stated that they were _home_ again. If she had needed a final straw, then this had been it. After hearing the Doctor talk about closed rifts in time and space and about the impossibility of travel to any other universe in all certainty, after she had witnessed what had happened to the Cybermen as they had switched of the emotional inhibitors, it finally had been shown to her quite plainly that there was no one she could return to, like Rose could to her mother now as they where back in their universe. Not now and maybe never. And above all, she had a dull pain in her head by now that slowly grew into a full blown migraine. No wonder after all that. She wasn't blaming it on the Doctor messing with her brain, most likely it was because of the Cybermen.  
So she had outright fled the console room, ignoring the irritated look the Doctor gave her as he was sitting next to Rose and almost ran to her room. She just desperately needed some time alone to gather herself after all the pain she had felt. Even though the Doctor had blocked the agony of the Cybermen out of her mind quite fast, she was still agitated and on edge because of that. Now, that all the adrenalin of their escape had ceased, it had left her rather vulnerable and all she wanted was solitude, a hot shower and some sleep to help with her headache.  
Now she stood under the hot shower, sobbing without restraint. Sobbing not only because of what had happened to the Cybermen, but also because of she felt so absolutely and utterly homesick right now. And not only that. She could feel something else creeping up her spine and soaking into her brain. The feeling of everything being meaningless, as if her whole existence was eviscerated by losing everyone and everything. A bit like she had felt outside the chip-shop.

 _Stop it._

She was sure that she could cope with what had happened to the Cybermen, she had witnessed things like that before. And she was really quite resilient when it came to that, otherwise she couldn't have lived a life like that for even a week. It would take a few days, but she would get over it eventually. And then, hopefully, the rest wouldn't seem that worse either.

After what had seemed like an eternity and her tears had finally dried she stepped out of the shower and dried herself with one of the huge, fleecy towels. She avoided the mirror (She could very well imagine how she looked like right now), put on the large, grey sleeping shirt that reached down to her knees, put a towel over the pillow and crept under the blanket. She didn't really care that her hair was still soaking wet and the towel wouldn't protect the pillow for long. She pulled the blanket over her head and with the humming of the TARDIS in her ears and her mind she was asleep within minutes.

 **...**

 _She was walking through endless corridors, a strange stomping noise in her ears. Her body felt weird, and she tried to look down herself, but she couldn't really see anything. Now there was another sound, a beeping, almost like an alarm. And then she saw it. Cybermen. Walking in line, endlessly. She tried to run, but instead she suddenly found herself walking alongside them. They didn't seem to notice her. Finally, they reached the control room. She went over to a console, as if she knew exactly what to do. She looked up to some displays, and there it was. A reflection. Her reflection. Silver metal with two round eyes with a slit on the outer sides like tears. Horror was taking over her brain. Horror and incredible pain. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't. She tried to lifted her arm in silent terror to touch her face, to smash the reflective surface. But her body didn't react. She couldn't even breathe. She felt as if she was dying, suffocating, but the metal suit prevented it. Then she heard a banging sound. Someone was smashing something. Like..._

 ** _..._**

She woke up gasping for air and looked around her in disorientation. The light was still on – or was it on again? It took her a few seconds to make sense of her surroundings. That definitely wasn't her flat in Terrania nor a cabin on one of the ships of the Fleet. It looked like her apartment on the moon, but where was the window? She was in the TARDIS, the ever present humming of the ancient ship helped her to realise. And there it was again. The weird banging sound.

 _Knock, knock, knock._

Someone was persistently knocking at the door without respite. Now she realised that she had already heard it in her dream. What a dream that had been. A nightmare. She sat up, buried her face in her hands – it actually felt like skin and flesh and not like metal - and drew a deep breath to calm her heartbeat and the throbbing in her head. Then she looked at the door and rolled her eyes. Whoever it was was still knocking. Well, there weren't that many possibilities. Basically, there was only one person on board who she thought capable of being _that_ annoyingly persistent. She looked on the clock. She had been asleep for not even an hour. She laid down again, pulling the blanket over her ears. Maybe ignoring him would help.

 _Knock, knock, knock._

"Oh God dammit!" she yelled at the door as the knocking still continued, shoved the blanket away and finally got out of the bed. "No answer _is_ an answer sometimes. Is a little bit of silence and sleep too much to ask for?" Now the knocking stopped and the door handle moved slowly. With a few steps she was at the door, grabbed the handle herself and pulled it open. "What?" she snapped exasperated. She had never been overly polite when she was woken up, even if it was from a nightmare.

The Doctor stood in the corridor, wearing his brown suit again, his hand hovering in the air about where the door handle was. He looked at her in surprise and even a bit startled, but almost instantly his brows furrowed in sorrow as he looked up and down her, before his eyes rested on her face again.

"I just wanted to check if you're alright. You weren't sleeping, were you?" He had shoved his hands in his pockets by now and his tone was all innocent and harmless. His eyes - not so much. They were piercing and observing her intensely from above, as he had laid his head back slightly.

"I actually was sleeping. And yes, I'm fine," she said and lowered her gaze. She knew how she looked like now, after not even an hour of sleep. Her eyes were probably still swollen and red like hell.

"You don't look fine," she heard him say. She peered at him from below, his brows were arched now and concern written all over his face.

"Yeah, whatever. I will be fine," she sighed. She didn't have nerves to deal with him or with anyone else right now. "I just want to go back to sleep."

"Back to more nightmares?"

Now it was on her to look at him in surprise. "I...Hell, yes, I know I look like shit. Why not? Nightmares or not, it's sleep after all." She rubbed her forehead and then leaned against the open door, her arms crossed. "Why are you really here?"

"As I said. To see if you're okay. And I was thinking that maybe you don't want to be alone now. I dropped Rose in her living room and she's with her mum so..."

"You're spaceship is parked in her living room?" she said and made an attempt to a lop-sided grin.

"Um.. It was. We're in the backyard now. Was a bit cramped in there," he replied without taking his eyes off her.

She desperately wanted to be alone now, somehow. Well, not really. She wanted someone of her friends here. Or at least to have the certainty that they were somewhere around where she could see them again any time soon. Like in the same universe as she was. Great. She felt tears in her eyes.

 _Not now. Not again._

It was of no use to give into this right now. It wouldn't help anything but only make it worse. Not that she didn't appreciate his efforts, but she still wanted to keep him at a distance, for so many reasons, and right now she didn't found herself in the position to deal with it.

"Listen, I..." she started and tried to blink the tears away. Suddenly, before she could finish the sentence, she found herself enveloped in his arms. Her first impulse was to step back, but at the same time she knew it would have been pointless. Not because he was holding her that tight, she just couldn't find it in her. Again it was as if his mere presence was soothing her. Behind his airily facade, his manic behaviour was something deep and calm that gave her a feeling of security and safety. So she could do nothing but to give in to his embrace.

"Hey, come here. It's fine," he whispered and pulled her even closer. Her head came to rest on his chest and she could hear his heartbeats. There actually were two. One strong on his left side, where her head was resting, and a fainter one echoing it.

"It's alright, hmm?" he continued in a soft voice and gently stroke with one hand the back of her head. For a moment she almost forgot everything around her. The ill fate of the Cybermen, Ricky and Angela Price, the fact that she was trapped in this universe and even how much she despised being here. She listened to the strange and calming rhythm of his heartbeats, took in his soft, alien scent and felt the reassuring strength of his arms around her. She delved into all this for one more moment, before she slowly but determined freed herself and took a step back.

"What?" he asked quietly and looked at her intensely. She met his glance for a second before she had to look away again. Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered how he had glanced at her earlier.

"Go," she said, her voice hardly more than a whisper.

"What? Why?"

"Just... Go. Please." She still couldn't look at him. A part of her wanted him to stay more than anything else right now, just to be with him for a while, but the rest of her knew they had taken it to far already. At least she had done so. From now on she would only concentrate on the task at hand, and that was finding a way back. Not making friends, most of all not close friends. Not becoming attached to someone as it was about to happen right now. And surely not walking around with people thinking they where together. Hell, Mrs Moore had been dammed sure about it. Not causing any more trouble and damage, not to Rose nor anyone else by steering things up here.

She finally looked up and into his eyes, only to immediately regret it. Besides the puzzled look in his face there was so much warmth and compassion in them, that make her heart hurt. He took a step back as she was slowly closing the door. As the door was completely shut, she turned around and leaned with her back on it. After a moment of hesitation she slowly slid down to the floor and buried her face in her hands. She knew he was still standing on the other side. Not much later she heard him walk away and his steps fading away in the distance.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He was standing a few inches away from the door that had just closed right into his face. Well, only closed, not slammed, but still. He laid his forehead against it for a moment. She was sitting on the other side on the floor, he had heard her sliding down the door. He couldn't hear her crying, but still she was far from fine. And not just because of the Cybermen. He had gotten a glimpse of her feelings earlier on. He had tried not to look too much into her mind, just enough to remove the block he had built earlier, but of course for that he had to get into her head somehow. It had been enough to notice the loneliness and forlornness in there. And what had really unsettled him was how old it was, even ancient. It had been there long before she came here. So long that it had become a part of her, and it was shadowing her mind with its all-embracing darkness. Of course, after all that had just happened and considering how exhausted she was he wouldn't have expected it to be all happy and bright in there.  
Nevertheless, it had hurt him to see it and it was still hurting him, now even more so as she had basically thrown him out of her room, despite she clearly wasn't all right.

And it was not only loneliness that had spread its dark wings in her mind. There had been something else, something way more dangerous and potentially disastrous, somehow dormant and carefully locked away. Basically, it was the same strength he had sensed in her earlier. But now he could clearly see that it was a two edged sword in the truest sense of meaning. It could be as constructive and life-bringing as it could be destructive – destructive most of all to herself, he was afraid of. He somehow knew that exactly this strength had almost brought her down once. He hadn't seen exactly what had happened, for he hadn't looked at her memories, he only knew that – whatever it had been – it somehow was the source of a lot of the darkness in her soul. And right now he wanted nothing more than to comfort her. He was very well aware of the fact that he couldn't undo all the damage and darkness in her mind, he had no illusions about that, but he could maybe prevent her from dwelling into it too deep and from waking up and bringing back whatever was behind it. If she would only let him.  
He hesitated for a second or two and considered if he should knock on her door again, but then decided against it and walked back to the console room. She would only throw him out again, he was certain of it. As he was walking he could hear the TARDIS sighing in his mind, mainly in frustration and also in sorrow. She was only to aware of what was going on with her passengers.

 _Humans._

He could very well understand her frustration. At least he was on a good way with Rose. Well, besides that he hadn't really talked to her so far. But it really hadn't been a good time earlier on. She needed to sleep and she wanted to see her mother, only too understandable after she had just seen how the Jackie of the parallel universe had died.  
At least the TARDIS was for once not frustrated because of him, he thought as he reached the console room. He gently stroke one of the pillars before he turned his attention to the console. There was still a bit damage that she hadn't repaired on her own by now. But he was still absent-minded. He was not only thinking about how to talk to Rose, but his mind also was still with Mira. A faint hint of cloves and lavender lingered in his nose. It came from his jacket where her head and her still slightly wet hair had rested.

* * *

 _bored411, 10th Squad 3rd Seat: Thanks for reviewing :-)_


	22. Chapter 22 - Changes

**Chapter XXII**

 _Rose's POV_

Rose was sitting in the kitchen with her mum, having breakfast. She had slept in her room this night, only to wake up a few times to look out of the window if the TARDIS was still standing in the backyard.

She stirred her coffee and looked out of the window. She had told her mum about the parallel word, just left out the part with her dad. Or Pete, for it hadn't been her real dad.

"What's it, Rose?" Jackie asked her with a concerned tone. "There's more than you've told me, isn't there?"

Rose looked at her and slowly shook her head. "It's nothing, mum."

"Is it because of Mickey? He's fine, you told me. Maybe you will see him again, who knows?"

"It's not Mickey," Rose said quietly and turned her cup in her hands.

"It's the Doctor then? What had he done this time?" Jackie looked at her out of huge eyes. "Oh. You're not... Tell me, Rose. Are you...?"

"Mum!" She looked at her genuinely shocked.

"Alright, alright. But you would tell me, if...?"

"Mum, stop it! There is nothing like this to tell. Ever."

"What is it? I thought you and him... well.. were a bit more than friends?"

Rose rolled her eyes. Not a conversation she wanted to have at this time with her mum. "Obviously not. Not any more. Don't know."

"What happened? Oh, it's these strange, skinny, pale woman? She's still around?"

"Yeah, she is," Rose answered with a tone so jealous, that even Jackie noticed it.

"Oh. Well, he's a bloke after all. Might be alien, but still just some bloke."

"He's not just _some_ bloke!"

"If you say so."

"Yeah, I do! You don't know him!"

"Well enough to not be surprised that he turns to the next woman he meets. He's a man, and they're all the same, no matter if they can change their faces or not."

"He's not just some man. And I've no idea what's it about her."

"Neither have I. She's really a bit too pale. And she's flat as a pancake."

Rose just looked at her, still a jealous expression on her face. "Yeah, she is. And she's annoying." She actually had curves, Rose had to admit. At least she had a waist and breasts, it just matched her overall slender frame. With her hair falling loose she looked a bit as if she had jumped out of one of the Lord of the Rings movies, only the pointed ears were missing. Rose still thought Mira wasn't beautiful in a photo-model sense of meaning, but she had something about her. It was the way she moved, smiled and looked at people. Not that Rose didn't think she was beautiful herself, but it still bothered her.

"Oh. But let me tell you one thing, Rose: Jealousy isn't very appealing. Not to any bloke, alien or not. A little bit is fine, but don't overdo it."

"What?" Rose said indignantly.

"Rose, sweetheart, I know you, I'm your mother. Just keep it down a bit, it's really not attractive. Said, if you still want him. But you can have whoever you want. It doesn't have to be him. Someone not that alien maybe? Not that I would mind, but... And I surely _won't_ mind if you'd stay here more often."

"But I want _him_."

"Well, then be a bit less jealous, or at least don't show it, be a bit more nice and pretend that she's not a threat to you at all." With that said, Jackie stood up and started to clear the table. Rose hurried to help her and then went to the bathroom to take a shower. Most likely her mum was right. She hadn't shown her best side in the last weeks, and her last, desperate action had went horribly wrong and had hurt him in a way she really hadn't wanted to. Maybe it really was time to change tactics and to try to not let these things bother her too much. It wouldn't be easy, but surely worth a try.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor had asked Rose into the library after she had returned to the TARDIS. It was true, he really had to talk to her, delaying it any further would only make it worse. He hated these things, he really did. He always hoped that they would either work out on their own, or he could remain in the status quo. Forever, if it was for him. But Mira was right, it wasn't fair towards Rose. And above all, Rose and Mira really had to stop fighting. Well, to be brutally honest, it was only Rose who was fighting.  
Rose was sitting opposite of him, watching him out of big, brown eyes.

"Rose...," he started, still not quite believing that he was really doing this, "we have to talk."

"About what?" she asked carefully. "Do you want me to leave? I thought we were good again..." Her voice trailed of and she looked at the floor.

"We are. And no, I don't want you to leave. It's just.. Remember what I said outside the chip-shop?"

She looked up at him again, still fear in her eyes. "Yeah, sure. You said you wouldn't leave me behind."

"And that's true. That's so true, Rose, but..." He struggled for words, looking around in the library and finally scratching his neck.

"But what?" she said in a thin voice.

"But.. Well. There's something else I said. I..." Oh good grief. That wasn't really him speaking about his feelings right now? "Listen, I..." That had been all Mira´s idea. He would have never done this on his own. At least he could blame it on her now if it went wrong.

"You said you can't spend your life with me," Rose said, her eyes turned to the floor again. "And I got it. It's okay."

"Rose... Well...I.. You know what, never mind," he said almost without realising that he was avoiding it again now. "Actually, it's just that...All this fight..." He paused and looked at her in confusion as he finally got what she had just said. "What? It's okay?"

"Yeah. Well, it's not actually okay, but I guess I have to deal with it. Just... If there's something with _her_ , then tell me, please." She looked back at him, visibly trying to keep her composure.

"What!?" He stared at her for a second, then rubbed his face with both hands and looked at her again. "Rose, leave Mira out of it. Between her and me is nothing."

"Okay."

"Okay?" he asked and eyed her sceptically. That was quite a change.

"Yeah, okay, I guess. Nothing I can do about it anyway."

"Good," he finally said and smiled slightly at her, even though he still doubted her swing of moods. What was she up to now? That had been easy, too easy.

Right at this moment, the door opened and Mira walked in, carrying a mug of coffee, he could smell it instantly. She looked from him to Rose and back, before she murmured something that sounded like 'sorry', turned around and was about to walk out again.

"Mira, wait!", he called after her. Well, if the were about to put their cards on the table, then there was no reason for not doing it right. She turned around again and looked at him, somehow uncomfortable. She looked better than last night, he noticed, just a tiny bit pale and tired. Her hair was falling loose and it was a bit ruffled. He suddenly remembered how soft and silky it had felt and how good it had smelled of lavender and cloves. Not that overly artificial smell that other humans seemed to love so much when it came to shampoo and perfume.

"Sit down, please," he said and she sat down on a chair between him and Rose and he continued, "No more fighting. Is that clear? I really can't stand that. So please, stop it."

"So, there really is nothing between you both?" Rose asked anxiously and immediately closed her mouth as if she had said more than she wanted. Mira sighed and rolled her eyes.

"No. There is nothing and there will never be anything. If you got the impression, I'm very sorry for that, just as I told you back in the other universe. And if it's for me, yes, we really should stop all this fighting."

"Okay, maybe it's time for a new beginning," Rose said almost out of nowhere with a smile and looked at Mira. He raised an eyebrow and looked at them both. What was going on with Rose today? Mira glanced at her, a bit sceptical as well. Rose lowered her eyes after a few seconds.

"I'm fine with it, Rose. New beginning," Mira said, nipped at her mug and put it on the table. "There's still coffee in the kitchen, by the way."

"Oh that's great, I only had one cup with my mum," Rose said, stood up and left the library almost in a hurry. He looked after her, even more confused.

"What's going on with her? Did she really mean it?" he wondered aloud.

"Well, I guess you have to ask her, if you want to know," Mira answered, somehow cold and distant.

"I have talked to her," he said. No change in her expression. "About the relationship thing." Well, at least he had tried it. Humans and their silly need to actually _talk_ about everything. And they had _talked_ , although it had went completely different than he had imagined it.

"Good."

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Say, do you have an observatory on this ship? And if you could provide me with any data you've gotten from that singularity, that would be really helpful."

"Helpful for what?"

"You know for what. I don't want to sit around and do nothing any longer, if I could instead actively search for a way home. I can only guess how good the sensors of the TARDIS must be."

"Yeah, and I told you, not only once, but at least twice, that the universes are sealed off. I´m really sorry, but there is no way back."

"And I told you I don't think so."

"Yeah. You think. Mira, and that's exactly what it is: Wishful thinking. You can't see the future because you're human! Humans can't do that, they can't see beyond time, no matter how psychic they are!"

"Do you have an observatory or not?" she asked again, all calm and professional.

He stared at her out of wide eyes for a moment. "You want an observatory? Fine!"

He jumped up and left the library, hearing her steps behind him. He went through some corridors, down a lot of stairs and past the garden until they finally reached a dark, wooden door that seemed to be out of a medieval castle. He pushed it open. Behind it was a round room with a huge glass-dome, which was so transparent that it was hardly visible and gave the impression of not being there at all. In the middle stood an old telescope, even larger and more beautiful than the one at the Torchwood Estate. Of course it was so much more than an ordinary telescope, same thing went for all the other, somehow antique devices that filled the room. The place was dimly lit by soft light with no visible source. The walls, up to where the glass began, were covered in dark wood with carvings that resembled letters in old high Gallifreyan. A feint smell of dust and old wood filled the room. He took a few steps to let Mira enter the room behind him. The sound of her steps was swallowed by the thick, dark-red carpet. He watched her as she looked around. Most certainly it was not the kind of observatory she had hoped for, and she wouldn't be able to work with it, at least not in the way she had wanted. Her face showed that she started to realise that herself. As she caught his gaze she turned her back on him and looked up to the glass-dome and at the dark space that spread beyond it, dotted with stars and nebulas that slowly drifted past with the rotation of the TARDIS.

He stepped next to her and looked at her from the side. "I'm sorry Mira, but there really is nothing to search for. If we're not ending up in your universe by accident, then there is no way back. There are no singularities any more. There have been, but they're gone." He was about to lay an arm around her shoulders, because there was again such a forlorn expression on her face as she glanced at the panorama of the dark space above her head, but she evaded him and walked over to a table and leaned against it. He remained at his position and shoved his hands into his pocket.

"Why can't you believe me?" she asked after she had eyed him for a moment. "Maybe humans in this universe can't see the future, but where I come from, there have been a few cases."

"Here also claim some they can do so. But they can't. It's just not possible. That's way beyond psychic"

"Yeah. Doesn't change that I have been right before. I'm living with this for over fifteen-hundred years now. So don't tell me what I can do and what not."

He sighed and shoved a hand through his hair. She was clutching at every straw, and he really couldn't blame her for that. He finally walked over to her and leaned against the table next to her, carefully avoiding to touch her, because he feared she would walk away again.

"Maybe that have been lucky guesses. You tend to remember only the times when you've been right, what makes it seem like you have been right every time," he said softly to her, looking at her from the side. She also turned her head and met his eyes, brows arched and a slightly bitter smile around the corners of her mouth. "Humans just don't perceive time in that way. And no mutation of your brains can change that," he continued.

"Yeah. Sure. You know what? Basically you're right. We just don't see time in that way. To us, the past is gone, the future is to come and right now it's present. That's how our brains work. Hell, even I struggle more with being in the past than being in the future from my point of view, because I still have the feeling that the past is fixed and I might change it by accident, whilst the future is still somehow out in the open, although, from a scientific point of view, I know that's complete and utter bullshit. Sorry. We have theories that there are fixed and not so fixed points in the past and the future, that somehow everything is at once and yet it isn't, we can describe and calculate it, but we can't really _comprehend_ it. And that's fine, because we are all part of this time and space continuum, and we move through it forward. Without our technology, which had given us our own time-machine, that's the way it is, and it's completely fine. We shouldn't get glimpses of what's to come, because that goes against everything we are, even more than travelling faster than light or even to another universes. You are totally right when you say that's not how our brains are supposed to work. And it's frightening like hell. And frankly? If there would be anything I could change, than it would be that. Not the empathy or anything else. I don't want to think about events to come and then, suddenly, know how they will work out. Without a chance to change it, because as soon as I know, it's fixed. Or even dream about places I haven't seen, knowing that there is going to happen something, but I just don't understand what it is. It has even worked in other parallel worlds so far, so if you tell me ten times more that I'm just imagining it, you still won't be right."

Now he was completely dumbfounded, and not just because of the length of her speech. He shook his head in disbelief. That couldn't be, although it all sounded quite logical, there was no way this could be true. And, to be honest, it had been a really long time since anyone had disagreed with him like that about this particular topic. His very own domain. And here she was, looking at him in all certainty and a bit stubborn. Well, maybe a bit more stubborn. And above all she was not only stating to be able to see the future, but she was also understanding the implications of it. Seeing things, even horrible things, and at the same time knowing that there was nothing that could be done.

"You dream of it?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, rarely, but it happens."

"What are these dreams like?"

"Well...," she sighed. "Like dreams tend to be. But they're weird. It's normally about places I've never seen before, and then, a while later, I somehow come to visit them. And there's something happening there in these dreams, but I can't understand it. It's only weird colours and shapes, so strange I don't even have words and names for them."

He eyed her closely. Well, not only eyed her with his eyes, but also with his other senses, and right away he felt the psychic barrier around her again, as strong as back at the sickbay after K9 had blown up the school. She was really about to keep a distance to him now. But why all of a sudden?  
That was really disturbing, at least a bit. Not so much that she believed she had dreamed of places she visited later on, but the part about seeing things she didn't even had a name for. That couldn't be. She was human, without a doubt. Or...

"Have you ever possessed a fob-watch?" No way. She wasn't from this universe. And even if so, then she should appear to be completely human without seeing things she wasn't supposed to. On the other hand, if she had been in this other universe all the time, then maybe she had survived, and if she had stayed like that for all these centuries, maybe some things came through by now... He didn't dare to end this thought.

"What?" she asked and looked at him with surprise and a hint of anger in her face.

"Did you ever have a fob-w..."

"I've understood you perfectly. But what's it now about watches?"

" _Fob_ -watches. Did you ever have one?" he tried it once more, staring at her intensely now.

"No! I've never possessed a dammed fob-watch!"

"Sure?" He hadn't really expected it. She knew when she was born, maybe she even knew her parents. Although there was time she was missing, she had said. Who was she? He thought he knew quite a lot about her by now, and yet, all of a sudden, he didn't seem to know her at all. What was she hiding?

"Yes! A hundred percent sure. I'm not even sure if I've ever seen one for real. I've hardly possessed _any_ watches in my life, besides the ones in our comm-devices. I'm the mere definition of a watch-less person. For God's sake, why?"

"Oh, just asking..."

" _Great_! You know what? I don't have to listen to this any more. Believe me or not, help me or not, I don't care. I'm completely fine with being on my own." She pushed herself off the table and headed for the door without looking at him once more.

"Mira, wait."

She turned around and stared at him, arms crossed.

"I'm sure she's already doing it, but I can configure the scanners of the TARDIS to look out for any anomaly. But as said, she normally does that on her own."

"Thanks," she said after she had taken a deep breath. "And maybe she should stay clear of black-holes for some time. I don't think this warning will be of any use now, but we can still try, can't we?"

"What!?" But she was already out of the door. What was that now? Another foreshadowing? Well, if that was the case, he should be able to see it. Problem was, there were so many timelines, so many possibilities of what might be, what will be and what wouldn't be. It was way easier to start from one single point and then to try to figure out what she had meant with any black-holes out there. His perception wasn't selective in any way, not as hers seemed to be. If there was something behind it, something he had still doubts about.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira was just out of the door as she noticed that she hadn't paid attention to the way down here.

 _Down?_

At least she'd had the feeling of walking down, but they seemed to be somehow at the top of his ship, judging from the glass-dome.

But turn around and ask him? No way. Not now. She would make it somehow, somewhen, back to either her room or the console room. Just at this moment the door behind her burst open and the Doctor came running out.

"What did you just say about black-holes?"

She turned around and looked at him. "Doesn't matter."

"Why?"

"You don't believe me, that's why." She had dreamed of one this night, after the dream about the Cybermen. It had been one of _these_ dreams. She didn't know any details, just these pictures of a huge black-hole and foreign, yet familiar corridors in her mind. Of course she knew there was no point in avoiding it, as she had just tried to explain it to the Doctor. She saw only things that had happened already and for this would happen no matter what.

"Oh come on!" he whined. "What's it with black-holes? Besides, you just said you don't care if I believe you or not. So you can as well tell me."

She looked at him as he stood in front of her, literally vibrating with energy and making no effort at all to conceal his curiosity. Even his hair was now ruffled and standing away from his head in any direction. It almost seemed as if it had a life of its own in some way. All in all it made her almost smile. She couldn't be mad at him. Not really. He was indeed infuriating, but right now she was filled more by frustration. Frustration about this whole situation, and about him so outright negating her perception. And by his weird mental leaps. Fob-watches. All right. Aliens. Who could possibly predict what was going on in his head. And she had already gotten glimpses of _how_ alien he was, despite him looking human. But nevertheless, the way he had looked at her as he had asked about this topic had made her almost shiver.

"I dreamed about them tonight," she said and started to walk along the corridor. "So we might bump into one sooner or later. Well, not literally, I hope. But anyway, if we get near one, we should be really careful. Although, as said, normally it's already determined what will happen. No way around it."

"So you really believe you can see the future?"

"Oh hell. How often will you ask me this now? There have been others, you know. Someone in particular. He could sense the change in cosmic force-fields, and predict whenever there was something important about to happen. Not when or what, but if. It was completely scientifically proven." Once more she wondered what had happened to him after he had stayed at the SOL, although he certainly was long dead by now. As so many people she had known over the years.

"Well, that's a bit different. And by a bit, I mean, like the difference between learning how to build a time-machine and operating it and actually understanding what you're doing and how it works. Well, no, that actually was a bad comparison. But sensing cosmic force-fields has nothing to do with seeing time."

"I've never said I see time."

"You did. Not literally, but you did nevertheless. What you're friend was able to do, was most likely sense the spin of certain particles. They all influence each other and transfer their information over very long distances, all the way through the universe. It's a bit similar to artron energy. But in a way completely different, because..."

"Hyper-particles, that's how we call them."

He looked at her bewildered.

"I said it's scientifically proven," she said.

"Anyway. That's just sensing particles, fields, just as birds sense the magnetic field of the Earth. Nothing about seeing time. You just said it, he couldn't say what was about to happen. Just sense the first waves of these events, so to speak, which form long before it actually happens. Well, to be precise, when it happens, but you humans are still not aware of it by this time."

He had a point there, she had to admit that. "Fine. Maybe it's not the same. Nevertheless, fifteen-hundred years of prove is enough for me. By the way, you don't ever give up when you think you're right, do you?"

"Well, neither do you," he said after a small pause. She turned her head to him and caught his gaze. One of _these_ gazes. It made her heart jump and her stomach feel strangely light all of a sudden. And her head spin with realisation.

 _Oh no._

That was so not a good time and place. Not that she didn't know how to deal with her feelings, but.. No. Just no. Not now. Not him. Not here.

"So, what else is there about you?" she heard him say.

"What do you mean?" she asked, slightly alarmed.

"Don't know. How did you end up with the military, for example?"

"I just grew into it somehow," she shrugged. "Believe it or not, there was a time when I considered myself a pacifist. I even lived in a hippie commune for a short while. And I was convinced I would never join any organisation that's even remotely connected to military or civil service."

"What happened?"

"Not that much, actually. It was back in the days of the Solar Empire. My father was the head of it for all its fourteen hundred and seventy years of existence. By election, mind you."

"Your father?" he asked, suddenly a strange tone in his voice.

"Yeah. He's also immortal, like me. Anyway. With him being in that position, and me being a mutant, well, there was this mutant-corps, and eventually I joined it. It's not that bad, and not just all military as the military was on Earth back in the old days before space-travel. Besides, for me it was more a formality than anything else. I hardly obeyed any rules, got demoted, promoted, I even quitted a few times."

"And what happened to the pacifism?"

"I lost it somewhere on the way, I guess. There was a day when I finally had to decide if I go on hiding behind my ideals, or stand up and fight for them, even if it means betraying them," she said quietly. And what a day that had been. Well, actually she had made that decision some time before that particular day, but that was clearly nothing she would tell him or anyone else here. It was enough that she had to live with it.

"You were attacked?"

She looked at him. They were still walking through the TARDIS, and right now she had no idea where they were and if they were walking the same way as before. "Yeah." Well, that at least she could tell him. "A genetically engineered species, who had sworn to annihilate everyone who could possibly alter their timeline and prevent their existence, attacked us with their fleet of almost invincible, living space ships."

"But you won?"

"Wouldn't call it a victory. Surely not all the people that lost their lives that day would do so. It was nine-thousand of their ships against almost hundred-thousand of ours and our allies ships. We managed to drive them off, but we lost. We lost almost everything. They attacked every planet in the Solar System. They destroyed all our industry, our scientific facilities, almost our entire fleet and all major cities. Even Terrania. One of the greatest and most beautiful cities humanity had built so far. It had been there for over four-hundred years. Gone within a day. Two billion people died alone on Earth at this day. The Empire itself almost fell apart after that, because the Solar System and the Fleet had always been the heart of it. There clearly was no way to work it out peacefully by just talking to them. Not that we didn´t try. They even shot down our evacuation ships as soon as they reached orbit," she said bitterly. She could remember it as if it was yesterday. Remember how she had walked through the ruins of the city that had been her home. Of course it hadn't been the only situation like that in the history of the milky way galaxy and mankind, but it was the first time she herself had witnessed how fast everything she had taken for granted could be destroyed. She met his eyes once more. There was so much understanding and also a deep grief in them. At least humanity had made it. It had taken time, but they had built everything up again. Not like his people. Although he hadn't actually said it by now, she was sure it must have been a war. But how could he be the only one to survive?  
"Anyway," she shrugged. "It's been over seventeen-hundred years ago."

"Seventeen-hundred? How does that work out?"

"As said, I've lost a few here and there," she said, trying to make it sound lightly. They walked up a stair that looked suspiciously familiar and right into the console room.

"So!" he exclaimed so suddenly that it almost made her jump. "Where to next?" He was fiddling with the console and beaming at her, as if he was a completely different person now, leaving her utterly confused. Was that his way to avoid what she wanted to ask next? What really happened to his people? Well, who could tell.

"To the library. My coffee is still there."

"It's cold now!"

"Yeah. Just as I like it," she said and and left the console room.

* * *

 _A bit backgroundstory and talking in this chapter. It was supposed to be a shorter one, but well...;D_

 _heroherondaletotheresuce, bored411, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, alwaystherereading : Thanks for reviewing. :-)_


	23. Chapter 23 - One Small Step Pt 1

**Chapter XXIII**

 _Mira's POV_

Mira returned to the console room not even fifteen minutes later. She had considered going to her room instead, but hiding was most likely not an option. She had hoped that Rose would be there, just to not be alone with him so often, but she wasn't.

"You're still dressed like this!" the Doctor greeted her.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" She looked down on herself. She was wearing black trousers and a black shirt.

"We're going to the sixties," he said, beaming at her. "Rose already went to the wardrobe," he continued and turned his attention to the console.

The sixties? As she realised what she'd just heard, her face dropped immediately. "What?" was all she could say as a reply. It had suddenly hit her like a blow to the stomach, completely out of nowhere. "Why the sixties?" she continued whilst trying to catch her breath again. Why the sixties of all times?

"Oh, not that I like them that much, fashion was a bit odd then, but it was mankind's first leap into space. I mean, real leap. Out of Earth's orbit. First step on the Moon. Watched it several times, so we can't go to the Moon itself, but we can watch the launch of the Saturn V. Quite impressive, at least for your lot," he said without looking up.

Unwillingly, faces of people she had known so long ago appeared before her mind's eye. Faces that brought back pain and grief that made her feel almost dizzy, so she quickly sat down on the jump seat, hopefully not too suspiciously.  
What the hell was going on with her? It had been so long ago, why did it hit her that hard now? Well, of course she knew it. She knew herself to well, and above all she was way to much into Psychology to not see what was going on. She just hadn't expected that it would catch up with her like that, at least not now. Was she on edge that much?

"What is it? You alright?", he asked, the smile fading from his face as he finally looked at her again.

"First landing on the Moon in the sixties? Are you sure?" she asked, mostly to disguise what really was going on in her head right now. To give her some time to gather herself.

"Yeah, nineteen-sixty-nine. Launch was at 16th of July. Why? When was it in your universe?"

"19th of June, in nineteen-seventy-one. It was the Stardust," she said slowly. She almost didn't dare ask the next question, but she had to know. "Who was it?"

"Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin."

"Oh. Well, didn't really expect it anyway," she answered, trying to sound steady.

"What? Who was it in your world?" the Doctor asked and sat down beside her.

"Reginald Bull, Clark Flipper, Eric Manoli and Perry Rhodan," she answered, looking at her hands which where clutched together because they had started to shake again. Oh for God's sake. Could it get any worse? Truth be told, she _had_ expected it. And yet, hearing it was obviously a different thing. And most of all, going back to the sixties. How often had she wished that there would be a way back?

 _This is_ not _your universe._

"Rhodan? You're related?"

"You can say so. He's my father."

"Oh...," he said. "Well. But even if it would have been him, he wouldn't be the one you know. Just as Pete wasn't actually Rose's father," he continued softly.

"Yeah. But it's just.. I don't know. If he would have been just a bit like the Perry I know, it would.. Never mind."

"Should we go somewhere else?"

 _Yes. Anywhere, any time. Not just there, not now nor ever._

She stood up and walked around the console. There had been a time when she had wished for nothing more than to get back to this time. But that had been in her universe, with all the people and everything else she had left there in this era. Basically, her whole dammed life. "No," she finally said and turned around to face the Doctor. Maybe it was the easiest way, pretending there was nothing about it to her, and just get it done. Otherwise, she had the distinct feeling, he wouldn't let go of it. Not after how she was reacting now. As blind to the obvious as he appeared to be sometimes, he also seemed to have a talent to see exactly what he _wasn't_ supposed to. "Just.. What happened? What did they find on the Moon?" she asked, mainly as a distraction.

"Find? Nothing. Dust, rocks... A nice view of Earth...Didn't even change that much down on Earth, if you ask me. They will struggle for quite a while after that with their own problems down there."

"Yeah, I've already seen the year two-thousand-six," she said. "In my universe it really made a difference for humanity. They found a crash-landed research ship of the Arkons on the Moon. It was the first contact with an alien species. Well, not really. Arkons have been on Earth centuries ago, but we didn't know." She remained silent for a moment after that. It really had been a _interesting_ time. From one moment to the next everything had been different.

"What happened?"

"Well, the Arkon ship was beyond repair but a lot of their technology still worked. There were two Arkon scientists on board, and my father convinced them to work with him. They couldn't return to Arkon on their own, and for their help in return, he would help them. He and his crew also decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to bring their technology back to the United States. Or to any other World Power back then. So they returned with the Stardust and some of their devices and landed in the Gobi Desert, right where now the City of Terrania is. Almost causing World War Three. Well, basically they did."

"How so?"

"It was a difficult political situation back then anyway. The Western Bloc believing that he had defected to the Asian Confederation or the Eastern Bloc didn't make it easier. He explained it, but nevertheless, it escalated and eventually they all launched their nuclear warheads. What they didn't know was that with the technology from the Arkons, the warheads were disabled, so they didn't explode. I would have never expected that they were mad enough to actually do it, but they really did. So technically, it was the day when humanity destroyed itself. Funny thing is, in the end they all got united somehow against his new found 'Empire' as they tried to destroy the Arkon spaceship on the Moon. Unfortunately, the succeeded. But a ship's boat was left and also the two Arkon scientists survived. Everything after that is history," she said, surprised how calm she was sounding. At least she was thinking she did sound rather composed again. It was common human history after all. Nothing personal about her.

"Quite a risky decision your father made at this time. But probably the best thing to do," he finally said after a moment of silence. "You must miss him."

"Yeah," she whispered and leaned against the console. Maybe the sixties here where completely different from her world, she tried to calm herself. Maybe it wouldn't bring back all the memories.

"But just one thing: You don't sound American at all."

"Um. No?" she asked puzzled. Then she got it. "My father is US-American, but I wasn't born there. English isn't my native language."

"What then?"

"Doesn't really matter."

"Why not?"

"Because. It's just not important!" Couldn't he just let go of it?

"Then you could easily tell me."

"No! It doesn't matter because it's dead. It's dead for ages, like most of the human languages, it belongs to a different time and now it's gone. End of topic!" By now she was yelling. As she realised that, she was genuinely shocked about herself. It was a sensitive topic, as everything that belonged to her old life, sort of, even after all this time. But normally she didn't get angry like that about it. Not any more. It was just a language after all. And yet, at the same time, it wasn't. It was a part of her identity, a part she'd had to leave behind. Just like the sixties and her life back then and everyone she had ever known. Just like now. Again. Great. It could always get even worse.

"So, is this sixties enough?" she suddenly heard Rose's voice from behind the jump seat. The Doctor turned his head and they both were looking at her. Rose was standing next to the stairs, wearing a short, sleeveless, a-line dress in a soft pink with white accents around the waist. A pair of white, semi-transparent tights and white, knee high boots with a medium high heel completed her styling. Her hair was back-combed to assemble something like a beehive hairdo. She looked really lovely, it was way better then her usual t-shirt and jeans look. She had even changed her make-up, although it was still a bit too much for Mira's taste.  
Unfortunately, at least the fashion was just as she knew it from her own universe. The thoughts in her head were running, but there was now way to get out of it it without stirring up his curiosity and forcing even more questions on her. And that was the last thing she wanted right now. More of his concern, compassion and looking right through her and letting him get even closer by that. There was already enough she had to deal with, without bringing someone else in. Besides, to her things always seemed way more real if she shared them with others. Talked about it. As long as she kept it to herself, she could pretend that everything was fine, sometimes even as long as she had convinced herself. Repression at it's best.  
She would not have to stay here. She would not lose everyone she knew again. And her situation now was nothing like it had been back then, so no need of being afraid to finally losing it this time. That's it.

 _Well then, close your eyes and go for it._

"So, do you want to go like that? It's sixties, space age, hippies, not all black!" she heard the Doctor say. "First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, it's the fifth door on your left, there's the wardrobe. Hard to miss. Go on then!"

"Fine," she gave in and left the console room.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He watched as she left, deeply in thoughts. That had been unexpected. He didn't believe it was all just about the difference in history to her own world. There was something more behind it, something severe. Was it about what he had seen in her mind? She was quite on edge, that was sure, and he would have to keep an eye on her.

"So, what do you say?" Rose pulled him out of his thoughts, tugging at her dress and smiling at him with her tongue-between-teeth-smile.

"Well, maybe the sixties weren't that bad," he said as he eyed her closely. It really suited her, he had to admit that. Besides, she was almost suspiciously back to normal.

"So, do you think we can get inside Kennedy Space Center with your psychic paper? Somewhere not open for public? See the rocket from up close?", Rose asked, apparently interested. Since when was she into technology like that? He furrowed his brow and looked at her a bit sceptical.

"Sure, if you don't find it boring."

"Why would I?"

"Don't know, you were never into these things before."

"Well, might have changed?"

He looked at her doubtfully, but then started to explain some of the technical specifications of the rocket. While he was rambling to Rose, he continued to think about Mira's behaviour and what could have caused it. What had happened? Had she been there with her father as he had landed in the Gobi Desert? Or was there something else that had happened to her as the daughter of an assumed traitor to his country? But why did she get that angry as he had asked her about her native tongue? Surely it had died out over the years, most likely humanity had turned to English and then probably to Intercosmo, but this must have been a rather slow process. It would have taken at least two or three centuries until her language could be considered dead.

"About what were you arguing?" Rose asked as he paused in his explanations.

"Arguing? Why do you think that?"

"Sounded like..."

"Nah. Just a discussion," he answered and began to program the console with the data for the next flight.

Right as he had set the coordinates, Mira returned. Well, that had been fast, he thought as he turned around. And almost didn't believe his eyes. She was dressed in a sleeveless tunic with a band collar, matching, loose cut trousers of the same fabric and a silvery belt around her waste, which was closed with a round clasp. The fabric had an over-all paisley pattern woven in in light, cool grey and blue tones. Light. As in not black.

 _Just as the grey of her sleeping shirt._

Not that she looked bad or sick in black, it gave her skin an almost alabaster-like tone, but grey and blue weren't bad as well. It made her eyes almost shine in blue. And she was wearing make-up, at least around the eyes, as it had been so typical in the sixties, and a light rose lipstick. Her hair was side parted and also back-combed. As she walked over to the console he could see that it was also tucked into a flat bun at the back of her head, leaving a pony-tail that fell over her left shoulder. Even her shoes were white, flat slippers. Plus, she seemed to be back to normal. At least her face gave no hint about what had just happened.

"What?" she asked, and he realised that he was staring at her, presumably not having the most intelligent look on his face. Not that he could really look daft, because even if he would have been daft, which he wasn't, he would still be way more intelligent then the most intelligent human, but...

"Nothing," he said, pulling at his ear-lob. "It's nice... Really. Nice. What's that? Did you get into a fight?" he decided to distract from how he must have just looked.

"What?" Now it was on her to look a bit daft.

"There," he nodded to her left forearm. On the outside where two long, white scars. Old ones, barely visible.

"Oh," she followed his eyes and looked at them herself. "Yeah. Defensive wounds," she lifted her arm in a defensive position with her forearm just in front of her head to illustrate it. "Happens when you go for knives. You can see them from there? I thought they weren't visible enough to bother about having them removed," she murmured and inspected them with furrowed brows.

"Removed? Why?"

"Yeah, I did so with the worst ones. I had quite some time to get a few scars. Or did you make it through nine-hundred years without any?"

He rubbed the back of his neck instead of answering. She didn't know about it yet. Actually, this body right now had none so far. Besides that, his skin was different than human skin. More resistant and healing faster.

"How did the other one look like?" Rose joked. Mira just glanced at her for a moment as if making up her mind what – and if anything – to say.

"Well, everyone ready? One small step for a man, but...," he yelled and pulled the lever, before they could go further into what had happened to whoever had attacked her.

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

Rose had eyed Mira suspiciously the whole time. Certainly the other woman knew that she was as jealous as before and that she was just playing nice. Although, it wasn't entirely true. The more time she had to think about what had happened in Pete's universe, the more her understanding for Mira had grown. Still no best friends with her, but wanting her off the TARDIS definitely had been a bit over the top. Apart from that, she wasn't convinced that there was nothing between the two of them. Well, at least they were already arguing. She knew what she'd heard, most of all how Mira had yelled at the Doctor, so even if there was something, maybe it would be over soon.

And now they where heading for Kennedy Space Center, something she wasn't really interested in. Watching the first step on the Moon would be more to her liking, but hanging around the whole day in the sun just to watch some rocket launch?

After a short and as bumpy as usual flight the TARDIS landed.

"So, here we are. Kennedy Space Center, the 16th of July, 1969," he said with a big grin and nodded to her as she pointed at the door. She opened it, and immediately hot, humid air hit her. She blinked into the sun and slowly left the ship, followed by the Doctor and Mira. They had landed somewhere behind some flower-beds and trees that where now pretty dry. She was looking directly at the entrance of the NASA Visitor Center, as the sign above the huge door said. There were a lot of people around, dressed just like in the old pictures of the sixties. A lot of them were smoking, Rose came to notice. No one seemed to care about the blue box that had just appeared. Besides the Visitor Center, there was not so much more there. The area was relatively flat, and in the distance she could see a few more high buildings and, even further away, the Saturn V rocket. That was pretty much it.

Right now, a rather old – or not so old at this time - bus came to halt in front of the building, and a group of people hurried to get into it, not bothering to get rid of their cigarettes first.

"Finally, it's warm," she heard Mira say. She turned her head. Yeah, too hot for her taste, and, judging from the look on the Doctor's face, also for him. But that didn't keep him from wearing is coat.

"Would have expected it a bit different," Rose said. "Not so... empty, you know?"

"Empty? That's supposed to be a space-port, isn't it?" Mira said in response. "You need a lot of empty space because all the noise and such..."

"And such?"

"Security reasons. Rockets are pretty much huge fuel-tanks. Either kerosene, hydrazine or hydrogen and liquid oxygen, I might say. Don't want it anywhere near people in case of a crash," the other woman said and nodded shortly over to the rocket. Rose eyed her. She seemed to be a bit absent, hugging herself despite of the heat and looking at the people in discomfort who had almost completely vanished into the bus by now.

"It's kerosene/oxygen for the the first stage, exactly six-hundred and forty-six tones of kerosene. Well, not exactly kerosene. It's called RP-1 and is a highly refined form of kerosene. Second and third stage were with hydrogen/oxygen," the Doctor said enthusiastically as he walked pass them and headed for the bus. "They use hydrazine though for the Apollo Lunar Module. Together with unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine. Highly toxic but hypergolic in that mixture."

"Hyper-what?"

"It spontaneously ignites when put together," Mira said in the Doctor's stead, because he was already jumping into the bus. The two women hurried to follow him.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

Oh he loved it. First steps of an alien species into space. Launching this huge fuel-tank right into orbit without blowing it up in the process and then heading directly for the Moon. Not that any of the Saturn-Rockets ever blew up. It was a story of utter success, besides this one tragic accident with Apollo 1 during an exercise. For once humanity put all their knowledge and technology to a peaceful use. Well, at least a bit. It was still a competition, and obviously in Mira's universe it hadn't worked out that well, at least in the first place, but here it would turn out to be rather peacefully. Even the rocket itself was painted mostly white, giving it a clearly civilian look. And it was beautiful. Not only to the eye, but as a symbol of a species longing for the stars. Giving in to the urge to get up there, no matter the price to pay.

"So, this bus goes to the tribune for the visitors?" he asked the driver.

"No, Sir."

"No? Why not?"

"What do you want there?"

"Watch the launch?" He eyed the man sceptically. This was the right year, wasn't it? Besides, the rocket was definitely standing on its launch pad. He couldn't be that wrong.

"A bit too early for that, Sir. Didn't know that the time difference's so big, though."

"What!?"

"You're from England, aren't you? Here it's still the 14th. If you want to watch the launch you have to wait two more days. So, what now? In or out?"

He looked at the driver in confusion. He had set the date to the 16th, he was sure of it. He had checked it. For once he wanted to be on the point. Why were they here two days early? Aside from that, the driver clearly wasn´t the brightest candle on the cake. "In," he said and wanted to walk pass the driver, but he stopped him.

"Tickets?"

"Tickets? Oh right, tickets." He pulled out his psychic paper and showed it to the driver. "They belong to me," he added and pointed at Rose and Mira.

"Oh, Head of Engineering? Why didn't you say so? Don't get much sleep lately, huh? And they're your secretaries...? Nice," he eyed them almost suggestively. "Got the wrong job, I assume." Finally he started the bus.

The Doctor pulled Rose with him by the hand as she gave the driver a poisonous look. Mira still seemed to be a bit absent – he could tell she tried to get herself together, but right now she was most likely not even fooling Rose.  
There where no three free seats in one row, so Mira came to sit two rows in front and diagonally opposite to him and Rose, next to the window. The whole bus was smelling of smoke. He couldn't understand it. Their lives where so short anyway, and on top of that, they had to poison themselves deliberately. Just as he had finished that thought, he saw how Mira got a cigarette from her neighbour. Really? She had never smelled of smoke since he had met her, and she'd had opportunities enough to get cigarettes, as they were at Earth with Sarah Jane for example. He could see that her hand with the cigarette was slightly shaking. She leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes, obviously feeling unobserved, as the bus was heading for the road.

"Uh, she's smoking?" Rose asked quietly and then looked at the full ashtrays between the seats in disgust.

"Seems so."

"You got it wrong!" Rose grinned at him. "Again. Two days!"

"Yeah, just wonder why...," he answered, rubbing his neck.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, unfortunately the Control Center is closed for visitors today due to maintenance," the driver said over some speakers. "We start our tour at the launch side."

"Could you just let us out at Control Center?" the Doctor called. The driver nodded and tipped at the shield of his cap.

Some minutes later the bus drove through the Launch Complex that was home to not only the high Vehicle Assembly Building but also some other smaller and larger buildings, a wide parking area and some containers where the staff was currently living. It finally stopped and they got out, Mira without cigarette.

"Don't know you're smoking," he said and looked at her with arched brows as they stood outside the huge, white building where the Control Center was, with its great window-fronts facing the actual launch side.

"I don't," she answered. "Not any more. At least most of the times." She avoided his eyes and looked around instead. "What do you want here?"

"Well... Just checking. We're two days early, and I want to know why. Besides, maintenance is always interesting, don't you think? Come on then!"

Just as he was about to walk into the building, two workers came out.

"And I tell ya, they won't delay it. They rather put electric generators in there," one of them said.

"Just wonder where all the power is going. Nothing wrong with the cables or the power plant. But it was the fifth time the Firing Room was without power during the last two weeks. Must be something in the building," his co-worker answered.

"Five already? Crap. But they can't delay. We would totally lose our face."

Then they got into a car, so he didn't hear the rest of their conversation. He didn't need to, he had already heard enough. Something was wrong indeed. He entered the building, waved the psychic paper at the doorman and turned around once more after a few yards.

"Excuse me, where was the Firing Room two again?" he asked the doorman.

"Just use the elevator over there, than you can't miss it. New here?"

"Yeah, first day. Here to fix the problems."

And before the man could say one more word, he was off again.

"They didn't delay the start, did they?" Mira asked as they where in the lift.

"No. And I can't remember any trouble ahead of it. But then again, I haven't been at Kennedy Space Center before. Well, not during this time. There was this one Shuttle-Launch though, that went almost wrong. Saved the day. Couldn't do anything for poor Challenger and its crew, on the other hand."

She just looked at him, obviously having no idea what he was talking about. "Never mind," he said.

The doors opened and they where practically standing in the Firing Room. It was huge and almost overcrowded with people. The air was filled with smoke and the smell of cold coffee, a lot of the terminals where in different states of disassembly, and all in all it was clear that they had a big problem. Men were running around, most of the people in there were actually men. A few nicely dressed women were also there, but mostly carrying file folders and tablets with coffee.

"I thought there were big screens," Rose said and looked around.

"Nah, not here. That's the Firing Room. It´s for the launch. Mission Control has the screen. That's at Johnson Space Center. In Houston, Texas."

"Ah, got it. Houston, we have a problem," she grinned.

"Shush," he quickly said as a man who had approached them looked at her sceptically.

"Who are you?" the man asked him. He was rather tall, grey-haired and looked quite tired. His tie was pretty much undone and his white shirt had a few coffee-stains.

He pulled out his psychic paper once more.

"Dr. Smith from the National Energy Department? What the hell?" He eyed the paper closer. "Well, seems real enough to me."

"Yeah, Dr. Smith, that's me. And these two are my lovely secretaries, Mrs Tyler and Mrs Rhodan. And it seems you've gotten yourself a bit of a problem, haven't you?"

Just right now all the terminals went dark, as did the lights. Fortunately, it wasn't even noon so it was still bright enough in the room. The man just rubbed his forehead and sighed in frustration.

"You can say so. I'm Henderson, Launch Director. Although I'm afraid there won't be any launch if it continues like that."

"Blackouts?"

"Yeah, the whole building. But just _this_ building. We're currently searching for short circuits, but it's no fuse." The lights flickered, went dark once more, before power was restored. "See? We can't have that during launch. Maddy, sweetheart," he said to a woman in a pink skirt suit that was just walking by, "Is there any more coffee?"

"Yes, sure," she said and went off. She was about as old as Rose was, the Doctor noticed.

"Well, I guess I have a look around then," the Doctor said and eyed the man. He was really overtired and stressed.

"Fine. JONES!", he suddenly yelled through the whole room, "COME HERE!" and more quiet, to the Doctor, "He'll help you."

"Nah, no need for that. I better work alone with my assistants."

"Assistants? Thought they're your secretaries?"

"Yeah, bit of both," he said, put one arm around Rose's and the other around Mira's shoulders, turned around with them and headed for the lift once more.

* * *

 _So, this is going to be an original adventure. Hope you like it. :-) I won´t do Idiot´s Lantern. The episode wasn´t that bad, but I really don´t feel like writing it. After this one I will continue with Impossible Planet/Satan´s Pit._

 _Thanks at Lucifae, bored411, 10th Squad 3rd Seat and heroherondaletotheresuce for reviewing, and everyone else for reading, liking and following my story :-)_


	24. Chapter 24 - One Small Step Pt 2

**Chapter XXIV**

 _Mira's POV_

"Mrs Rhodan, to the cellar please," Mira heard him say as they had entered the lift. She turned her head to him and met Rose's glance whilst doing so. The other woman looked equally doubtfully. "The sixties have gotten a bit to your head, hm?" she said to him, but pressed the button for the cellar anyway.

"As long as he is not expecting us to bring him tea...," Rose said.

"Why would I do that?" the Doctor asked and finally let go of them both. Mira watched him. She couldn't say if he was seriously asking or if it just had been a rhetorical question.

"What do you think is going on here?" Mira asked as the lift went down. She was still a bit beside herself, although the new problems at hand made it a bit better. Something she could focus on at least.

"Don't know. Could be anything," the Doctor said and eyed her thoughtfully. If he would just stop that, she thought for the umpteenth time.

"Anyway, I have my doubts that they'll put their control room together again within two days, even if they fix their energy problems," she replied as the doors opened. In front of her was a long corridor, dimly lit by safety lights at the walls. The floor was naked concrete, same for the walls. It was warmer than she would have expected it down here.

"But they did launch the rocket on the 16th," Rose said as she and the Doctor left the lift behind her. "I remember it. So it already happened, didn't it? I mean, if the do it later, I would remember that instead of the 16th?"

"Well, said if time was linear, than you would be right," the Doctor answered. "But it isn't. Time can be rewritten, and so can your memories."

"My memories would change?"

"Yes. Slowly, but they would. It's not static just because it's in your past, Rose. It's a bit like some wibbily wobbly, timey wimey sort of thingy," he explained and pulled out his Sonic.

"Timey wimey? Really?" Mira turned to face him. "From _you_ of all people I would have expected a bit more of a scientific explanation."

"Do you have one?" Rose asked, obviously not quite satisfied herself.

Mira looked at her. She still hadn't given up, she just had changed her tactics. Nevertheless, playing nice was way better than openly aggressive. "No, that's why I would've loved to hear his. I can only say that it sounds plausible that our memories could change. The past isn't fixed, as I had always guessed, even before we had proven it in my universe . There are these paradox-things, like what will happen if you go back in time to do something, that changes your present, giving you no reason to go back. Well, I guess you have similar things here, haven't you? Or what would happen if you kill your ancestors."

"Could you actually do that?"

"I guess so. At least once."

"But how? You would have never been born."

"Well, you are born, at least this one time to go back. Maybe you just enter another time-stream by killing your ancestor. Or, more likely, you just cease to exist. Besides, there is no strict principle of cause and effect when it comes to time. Plus, I don't think it's that easy to kill some of your ancestors. Or do anything else to really change what happens. I think in every event there is a certain amount of energy stored. And, if you want to change it, you need also energy, or effort, call it whatever you like. So I believe that time isn't that easy to change as some may think. Some events can't be changed at all, because the amount of energy you need would be so great, that probably the universe itself would just implode. But as said, that's merely personal belief, I don't have any hard prove for that." She peered over to the Doctor, who glanced at her with a strange look in his dark, alien eyes, and continued, "Most likely I'm just embarrassing myself with my tiny little human brain right now."

"Tiny little human brain? Did he say that?" Rose asked as she followed Mira´s eyes.

"Yes, he did."

"Yeah, he really likes to insult species sometimes," Rose chuckled.

"Oi! That was just stating facts. Not insulting," the Doctor said and looked from Rose to Mira and back before he started scanning with his Sonic.

Mira took a closer look herself now. Beneath the ceiling were water pipes and power lines, all quite neat. She could hear the dribbling sound of water in the plastic pipes and a distant, low frequent vibrating of some heavy generator or something like that. They walked pass several doors, the Doctor pointing the Sonic at them and even opening a few. There were mostly storage rooms behind them. They had walked for almost five minutes, and Mira wasn't quite sure now if they were still underneath the Control Center. The corridor had made some turns, but they could also be under some of the other buildings by now, though she would have bet her money on the Control Center.

"Don't you think it's weird that there is no one down here? I mean, the whole building is crawling with people, but down here there's literally no one," she suddenly said. It was true. It was, besides the noises of the installations, absolutely quiet down here. The air was strange, still to warm and humid for a cellar. It was supposed to be either warm and dry, or cold and damp. But not almost sticky like that. And it was getting worse.

"Maybe they've ruled out anything down here?" the Doctor answered, sounding not quite convinced.

"But that's where normally all the electric installations go into the buil..." Before she could finish the sentence, something else caught her attention. At first she thought someone had whispered into her ear, but immediately after that she could feel the pressure on her mind. Something trying to entering it, taking control over it.

"Do you feel that?" she asked the Doctor and went a few steps further into the corridor. The feeling got stronger, although it still was easy for her to fight it. A nice change that her psychic abilities were obviously working against something after having no effect on the TARDIS.

"What?"

She looked at him. He didn't seem to be affected, but he should feel it, shouldn't he?

"This presence. It's alien and it's trying to influence me. Don't know by now what it wants, but..." She turned around because she couldn't hear Rose's steps anymore. The Doctor followed her glance, and they could see Rose standing in the corridor, just at the same spot where Mira had felt the presence first. Rose was looking into space with empty eyes, frozen to the spot.

"Rose?" Mira asked quietly.

The Doctor walked over to her quickly, but didn't touch her. Instead he just tried to catch her look.

"Rose?" he asked now himself in a gentle tone. Mira stepped next to him. Rose clearly was completely under the influence of whatever was further down the corridor. Mira lifted her arm and was about to grab Roses upper arm to try to shake her out of it, but the Doctor intercepted and shook his head.

"Let's find out what this is about." He took Rose by the shoulders, moved her around and went a few steps back to where they came from. Suddenly there was life again in Rose's eyes and she turned to the Doctor with a smile on her face. "So, are we done down here now?"

"Don't know," the Doctor said and observed her. "Did we find anything?"

"No?"

"Sure?"

"Yes. We looked everywhere, all's fine."

Mira and the Doctor looked at each other, making Rose ask in confusion, "Why? What's going on?"

"Rose, well.. There's obviously something," Mira said to her, "Something that can influence people. Humans at least."

"How do you know?"

"You've just been influenced," the Doctor told her. "Now you wait here for.. say, about ten minutes. If we don't return after them, go up and.. Well, get help would be a bit difficult I'm afraid. Mira, you wait with her."

"Surely not."

"Surely yes."

"No. It doesn't influence me, so I won't wait here. End of topic. You can wait if you want." Actually, it would be better if one of them would stay here, but on the other hand, he would run into the same trap or danger if there was anything, if he would follow her after ten minutes. Or she would, if she was following him, whoever was about to stay behind and wait. Obviously, normal humans couldn't get closer. Meaning they had to be careful. The Doctor stared at her for a moment, before walking away into the corridor. "Fine! But I did warn you!" he said. She hurried to follow him. They walked another fifty yards and the pressure against her mind constantly grew stronger, but it was still weak enough for her to handle. She didn't even need to actually concentrate on it, her brain was almost doing it on it's own. After walking around a corner they stood in front of a white, metal door, just as the fire protection doors in cellars at this time.

The Doctor tried the handle, but it was locked. No hindrance for his Sonic, and some seconds later the door was open.

"What?" she said, because he had suddenly stopped right in the middle of the door frame, blocking it almost completely.

"A plantation..."

"What?" She could see that it was brighter in the room behind the door than in the corridor, but that was basically it.

"I said that's a..."

"Got that. Would you just move?" she poked him with her finger in the back. He took a slow step into the room after he gave it a last sweep with his Sonic, and finally she could see for herself.

"Oh hell. And there I thought they were only growing marijuana in their cellars at this time..."

"Yeah. Seems they confused psychic plant with psychoactive, hm?" he said. Mira looked around. If she had first thought it were several plants, now she could see it was basically one. It seemed to grow right through the floor, it was cracked and arm-thick roots running through it. The plant itself had huge, heart-shaped leaves of a dark, leathery green. It stretched all the way up to the ceiling, some of its branches vanishing through cracks in the wall. The air in here was even more hot and humid, thanks to a lot of floodlights and leaks in the water pipes. It was a wonder that there hadn't be a short circuit with all that water, she thought. Some of the branches even wrenched around the power lines itself, seemingly being attached directly to them.

"Seems we found the source for all their problems," the Doctor said quietly.

"You still don't feel anything?" she asked.

"A bit maybe now, but it seems to go more for humans," he said and went closer to the gigantic plant.

"Stop!" she yelled, but it was too late. He touched one of its leaves before Mira could hold him back. Was he somehow into electric shocks? Fortunately, nothing happened. "Don't you see it's attached to the power lines?"

"Yeah, saw it."

There went a rattling through the whole bush-like thing, as if it was shaking its leaves under the touch. But besides that, nothing more happened. Maybe the psychic presence brushed a bit harder against her mind.

"Does it say something?" the Doctor asked, still examining the plant.

"Not really. Doesn't seem to be an actual telepath, more some sort of hypnotic." But maybe if she would let this thing finally into her mind, they would get some answers...

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

"That's a shame," he said as he observed the plant further, gently tugging on one of the leaves. He could almost feel some resistance from the branch itself. Of course he didn't pull it out. The whole plant had wired itself into the power supply system and also got heat and light from the floodlights. Most likely it had manipulated the humans here somehow to bring these things here. How long has it been here? Where did it come from? And, most of all, what did it want? If anything at all...

"Maybe we can get one of the workers in here, if the plant is able to manipulate them, maybe it can communicate through them...," he said and turned around to Mira.

"Oh, no need for that," she whispered, her eyes closed.

"Mira? What are you doing? No, no, no! Stop it!" He rushed over to her, took her by the shoulders and as he was about to shake her out of it, her eyes shot open again. He immediately let go of her and took a step back. Her pupils were so wide now, he could hardly see anything of her iris. He hadn't seen something like that on Rose earlier in the corridor, she had looked rather normal, only a bit absent.

"What have you done to her? Leave her! Now!"

"Why? This one is different... It invited me. I'm not leaving," she said quietly and looked down at herself. "It is old. Not as old as I am, but so much older than the others."

"What!? Come on, you're not growing here for over fifteen-hundred years!"

"No," she said and walked slowly around him. She even moved a bit different now, he noticed, almost sneaky. "You are different as well. No decent leaves though, just like the ones that grow here," she added as she stopped behind his back and suddenly ruffled with one hand through his hair.

"Oi!" he spun around, covered his head with his hands and smoothed his hair. "That's hair! And it's decent! Leave it. And leave her!"

"No. Who are you? You didn't grow here."

"I'm a Timelord."

"Aaaaah," she said, observing him, her head tilted to the side. "There are rumours about your kind, almost as old as the universe."

He jumped backwards as she went for his hair again, holding out one arm to keep her out of reach. "Would you mind stopping that?" he whined.

"You started pulling on my leaves! Besides, it feels... funny. The connection with the others wasn't deep enough to feel them touching something."

"What do you know about the universe?" he asked, carefully keeping some distance between him and her as she was pacing through the room.

"A lot. Passed on through generations. We all now what our ancestors knew. Every generation adds to it. Just like I will." She pointed at the plant and then gently stroked over one of the leaves that was hanging from a branch on the ceiling.

"What do you want here? Where do you come from?"

"Oh, so many questions this one has."

"And you will answer them!"

"What if I don't?"

"Well, plants are pretty much immobile, aren't they?"

"You're threatening me now?"

He looked at the plant as he heard a sliding noise. Some of the roots were slowly creeping in his direction. Emphasis on slowly.

"That's all you can do? Maybe you will get me, say, in the next hour? If I don't move."

"I have many ways of defending myself. And you don't forget that I still have _her_. She's quite attached to you. I wonder if this feeling is mutual." Suddenly her arm shot up and he instinctively closed his eyes in expectation of the slap that certainly was about to follow. It didn't happen, instead he felt her softly stroking over his left sideburn with her fingertips. He instantly opened his eyes again, only to see that it was still the plant making her do that. He took her hand in his hands and moved her arm away from his face. "Just tell me what you want. Maybe I can help you," he said and let go of her.

"I don't need help. My plan is almost complete. All I need is their little spaceship to spread my children over their world."

"Well, then maybe you should plug yourself out of their power supply, to begin with. You're delaying the start."

"You're lying!"

"No. Look into her mind if you don't trust me!"

She remained silent for a moment, glancing into space, her eyes still almost black in the bright light.

"It's true. I will consider it. My time has almost come anyway."

"Well then, now leave her!"

"No. This one is rather useful. Different than the others. All these senses..."

"Leave her. Now!" he yelled and stepped right in front of her, looking directly into her eyes.

"No, I...," she started to answer, but then her eyes rolled up and her eyelids flickered. She took a step forward to find her balance again and he quickly grabbed her arms to support her. But there was no need for that, not even a second later she was standing safely on her feet and looked at him, her eyes back to normal again.

"You alright?" he asked, still holding her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, freeing herself from his grip and then turning her head to the plant.

"Why did she let go of you?"

"It. Or he and she. It's both, monoecious is the correct botanical term, I think. And it didn't. I threw it out, because by now I know everything I wanted to."

"Yeah, good for you that you could throw it out again," he said, almost angry now. "And there I thought Rose is risk-friendly!"

"Oh come on. It's really not that strong. Do you really believe it's the first time I'm doing something like this?"

"What, sharing your mind and body with the consciousness of a plant?"

"Well... Actually.. I guess it's the first time it was with a plant," she said and scratched her head thoughtfully. "But communicating with someone like that indeed happens rather frequently. Mutant-Corps, remember? That's my job for ages now. Besides, you would have done just the same, wouldn't you? Your loss that its most likely to weak to get into your mind."

He looked at her as he recalled what the plant had just told him. What had it meant with she was _attached_ to him? _Quite_ attached?

"So, I guess the plant know now everything about us as well?"

"Um.. No. Had it all under control. Well, at least the important things. I had to tell it something, otherwise it would have gotten suspicious."

"Under control? Well, if you say so... You could have stopped it from ruffling my hair!" He wasn't sure if he could trust her with this, even though, after everything he had seen from her so far, she would tell him if there was anything important. Anything regarding the problems with the launch of Apollo 11.

"What? Did it do that? Sorry. I had to find out a few things, the mind of a plant is quite interesting." She grinned at him. "Let's get out of here," she added and headed for the door. He followed her, and soon later they were standing in the corridor with Rose again.

"What did you find?" she asked him.

"A plant."

"A _plant_?"

"Yeah, big one. Intelligent, psychic, alien plant," he said.

"Let's get a bit further away from it," Mira urged. "There's something more."

There wasn't much more left to do for them here, so they headed back to the lift. As they had made half of the way, Mira continued. "It wants to blow up the rocket."

"What!? I thought it needs it for its children!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah. That's the plan, I saw it in its mind. Its seeds are in some state of hibernation or something like that. It needs heat, a lot of it, to wake them up. When the rocket is high enough, it will explode and spread them into the atmosphere, so they will rain down slowly. Call me paranoid, but it almost looks like an invasion to me."

"But how?" Rose asked.

"It has influenced some of the technicians. Obviously some are more susceptible and it lasts even if their out of its reach. It got them to prepare the rocket somehow. Unfortunately, I haven't seen exactly what they have done. I doubt it knows it itself. We have to stop it. And not just because of the damage it will do to the ecosystem. With its way to influence and possess people, it can get the whole planet under control, with everybody serving it."

"Wonder how it got here in the first place," he said, shoving his hand through his hair.

"Sorry, I concentrated on its plans, no time to figure that out."

"Well," he said as they had reached the lift. "I don't think telling them that they're growing an alien plant in their cellar would be wise. Would only wreak havoc. Besides, no matter what it's about to do, and if it's hostile or not, it doesn't deserve to be put to some laboratory for dissection. First priority is to find out what they have done to the rocket and fix it."

* * *

 _bored411, 10th Squad 3rd Seat: Thanks for reviewing :-)_


	25. Chapter 25 - One Small Step Pt 3

**Chapter XXV**

 _Mira's POV_

Mira had agreed to the Doctor's plan. It was indeed counterproductive to tell them about the plant and its plans with the rocket at this point in time. They would only storm down there – or at least, try doing so, and eventually some of them might be able to get close to this thing. There had always been a certain percentage of humans who proved to be more resistant against psychic powers. At least where she came from. They would have killed that poor thing – Mira wasn't convinced that it really was simply hostile, it seemed to do just what it had always done: Ensure its survival and that of its children. Above all, it was a plant. Even though she had been in its mind, she didn't really understand it and its motivations. It was just too foreign to grasp it in such a short time. But, despite what she had told the Doctor, she had very well noticed how the plant had made her body ruffle his hair. And what gorgeous hair he had. Thick, silky and soft.

It had only been because she needed to give the plant a bit control over her mind and body, so that the Doctor could talk to it. Plus, she had actually been in the plant herself, to find out more about its plans. Well, it was a bit less than ideal that the plant had told him about how attached she was to him, because it obviously had gotten a glimpse of her feelings, but well, no need to cry over spilled milk. Doesn't mean she would throw herself at him at the next opportunity.

If it had been an ideal world, maybe. If she would have met him in her universe, if she had something of a private life every now and then, then she would have considered it. Maybe. If her heart hadn't been broken so many times before. If she didn't know exactly that she would lose him sooner or later, because no matter how old he could get, he wasn't immortal. That didn't just happen naturally, so even if he would live for ten-thousand more years, he was still mortal.  
Apart from that, she didn't really know him. Sometimes he seemed to be incredibly familiar, and at other times he was so alien to her as hardly anyone had ever been before. And she had met a lot of alien species. Even the two relationships in her life – long term relationships that actually deserved to be called that – had been with aliens.

 _Hell, when did I go from 'Not possible' to seriously thinking about it?_

She looked over to him. They were walking across the launch side, along the street where they had driven the rocket launch pad to its destination a few month earlier, as the Doctor had told her. He was looking over to the rocket, which was lit by countless floodlights. Besides that, the night was pretty dark and she lowered her head again to watch the ground and not trip over something. Rose had stayed back at Control Center. They couldn't convince them to put everything in the Firing Room back together, nor that they found the source of the energy loss and they shouldn't worry. Maybe due to the fact that right as the Doctor was babbling about some explanations the lights went dark again for almost five minutes. So they had left Rose there to do some damage control in case they were discovered. After making sure of that, despite Rose protesting, they had been on their way as soon as it had gotten dark.

The main plan was to get the seeds and undo whatever the plant had done to the rocket to strengthen their bargaining position. And prevent it from blowing up, of course. Meaning they had one night to search a rocket that was about three-hundred and sixty-three feet in height, plus looking for a detonator that might be somewhere in or on the rocket, on the launch tower, in the Control Center, or somewhere completely different.

"Ah, dammit!" She swiped at a gnat that just bit her in the arm. These bloody things where practically eating her since they had left the Control Center. They had driven the first part of the way by car – the Doctor had 'borrowed' a rather nice nineteen-sixty-seven Chevrolet Impala that had been parked in front of the building - but decided to walk the last part, to minimize the risk of discovery.

"What? Another mosquito? If you go on like this you'll wipe out the whole population here."

"Shut it. Right now I'm their natural enemy. If they want to survive they simply have to stop biting me. Apart from that, they're eating _me_ , not you. All of them."

"Nah, can't get through my skin. Plus, they can't feed on my blood. Too different."

"Yeah, good for you!"

He looked at her as if he wanted to say something more, but instead of doing so he turned his head to the rocket again. At least that was what it looked like to her in the dark of the night. It was new moon, so she could hardly see anything.

"So, that'll be the sixties, hm?"

She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what that was supposed to mean. Small talk? Him? He babbled a lot, but normally about technical stuff or something like that. And babbling didn't equal small talk. "Yeah?" she said cautiously.

"Where have you been back in your world when they flew to the moon?"

She rolled her eyes. "At home."

"Where was that?"

She stopped, and, after two or three more steps, so did he before turning around to look at her.

"You just can't let go of it, can you?"

"What? I only asked where you were. At least it was your father in this rocket, and a bit later they pretty much thought he was a renegade. Just wonder what had happened to you then."

"What? Well, at least not what you're apparently thinking right now. You're completely on the wrong track. Besides, had it ever occurred to you, that maybe I don't want to talk about it? Not now, not to you nor anyone else?" She tried to figure out the expression on his face, but it was way too dark.

"Actually, it did occur to me, yes."

"So?"

"I was just thinking that maybe talking about it might help. You've been a bit on edge since we're here. And you know you can trust me, don't you?" he answered, again all innocent, whilst rubbing his neck.

She just blinked at him in disbelief. "It might _help_?"

 _Seriously?_

"You honestly think talking about things that can't be changed will make them any better? Despite I made it dammed clear that I _won't_ talk about them? And this is so not about trust." She shook her head, and before she could help herself, she continued, "I can't believe it. _It might_ _help_. Just as talking about your life helps you?" Oops. She didn't mean to speak out the last sentence, but there it was.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

"What?" The Doctor looked at her bewildered. Although it was quite dark, he could still see enough to make out the slightly shocked expression on her face. The light of the stars was enough for him.

"Nothing. Forget it," she said and crossed her arms after she had waved at another gnat that went for her ear.

"No, I'm not forgetting it. What did you mean?" He was still studying her face. In spite of knowing that a counter-attack like that was a rather common defence-mechanism not only throughout human behaviour but also a lot of other species, he almost felt anger rising in him. What did she know about him to make such statements? He honestly just wanted to help her.

"You're not much better either when it comes to avoiding certain topics, that's what I mean."

"What?"

"Oh come on. You did it. Twice. Once back in Pete's world, in the TARDIS as I was asking about your people, and just recently your sudden and almost inappropriate change of topic. I admit, maybe I'm wrong regarding the second time, but surely not when it comes to the first time."

"Mira, don't go there," he said quietly.

"No? See what I mean? Nothing you want to talk about. So I respected that and didn't bother you any further. Okay, maybe I did go a bit too far in the TARDIS, but I wasn't constantly rubbing it in after that. You surely have your reasons why you won't talk about it. Is it too much to ask for you to just do the same?"

"You´re accusing me of being disrespectful?" That was a hit. One could accuse him of a lot of things, but surely not of disrespect. Maybe he was a bit impudent from time to time, but that didn't change anything about the basic respect he felt towards every living being. And surely he respected her.

"I don't know. How could I? Maybe it's just the way you are. Maybe I should bother you as much as you bother me, but, unfortunately, in this case I can't read your emotions, not to speak of reading your mind. And besides, talking about trust: I may not be an expert on that subject, but I always thought of it as a mutual thing. So I'm supposed to trust you, but obviously I have no idea if you trust me, for you keep everything to yourself." She shot him an angry look and then walked pass him. He looked after her. Did it really seem like that to others? Did _he_ seem like that? None of his friends and companions had ever found such clear words. Well, they had been close, but not after such a short time. And somehow he had the feeling that she hadn't said everything yet. That there was more she knew about him, by just observing him for these few weeks. She hadn't been in his head, had she? Not really, not like he had been in her's.

All right, maybe he had forgotten about the fact that she was so old for a moment. She must have known so many people, alien and human alike, probably there was hardly anyone who could actually fool her. She clearly wasn't like Rose or anyone else of Rose's age. Besides, Rose had backed off after she had asked him where he came from. Back then, as they had watched the last days of Earth. Mira on the other hand didn't seem to be the kind for backing off at all.

He struggled with himself for a moment. He had told Rose, but no one else. He wanted to leave it that way, so that sometimes he could just pretend... On the other hand, she had pretty much figured it out on her own. Besides, he had the distinct feeling that if he remained silent now, something between them would break before it had even begun. Something that couldn't be fixed so easily. And he didn't want that.

"You were right," he finally called after her. "It was a war." She turned around to face him again.

"A mighty race, the Daleks, attacked us. They tried to wipe us out. And, just like you said about the attack on your world: We lost. Everyone lost. But unlike you, we didn't recover. They're all dead. Everything is gone. My people, my family, my friends, my.. my homeworld, everything." He looked at her, almost feeling as defeated as he had felt back then.

 _And it's my fault. I made it happen._

He couldn't tell her that. She would hate and despise him. There wasn't any other way for her or anyone else to see it. But it had been the only thing for him to do. There hadn't been any other choice. And he was paying the price for it now, every waking second. It even haunted him in his sleep.

She walked the few steps back to him.

"But how? I mean, you have space-travel. How could everybody be dead? Didn't you have colonies in space?"

"No. That... That just wasn't our way. They're all gone. I'm the only one left."

"How can you know? The universe is so huge, maybe some got away, just like you did?"

He looked at her. It was not that she disbelieved him, she just wanted to cling to something to give him hope, he realised.

"No, there is no one. I would feel it," he said and tapped at his head.

"Oh my god," she whispered as it obviously dawned on her. "You really are a telepathic species. You were all linked, and now..."

"Yeah," he said, his voice cracking and feeling tears in his eyes. Earlier on he sometimes had wished that he couldn't always feel them in his head, but he hadn't known it any differently. To him it was as natural as seeing must be to humans. And now he actually was alone in his head, apart from the TARDIS. Reminding him that they really were gone, and he wasn't just away from Gallifrey as he had been earlier. There was no place he could return to. He ran away from there, avoided it for so long, and now he wished nothing more than to return to this old planet. He lowered his gaze, because he couldn't stand the compassion he saw in Mira's eyes. He didn't deserve it.

He was about to shove his hands in his pocket, but she took them before he could do so, gently interlacing her fingers with his. He stared at her in utter surprise, whilst feeling the warmth of her soft, fragile, human skin. It was a gesture so spontaneous and so full of affection, it was almost intimate. Completely different from how all the previous hugging and holding hands with her had felt.

"I...," she started as if struggling for words, looking him straight in the eyes, "I.. I really don't say this often, but I'm so sorry. Honestly, I don't know what else to say, but..."

"It's fine," he said and freed his hands so that he could hug her. She returned it and he whispered into her ear, "I know." In a way she was as lonely here in this universe as he was. After a moment they let go of each other and walked on in silence. There was no need for any more words.

Apart from bringing back all the pain, he had to admit that it really was good to talk about it, to share it, and not to be left all alone with it. Or it would be, if it hadn't been all _his fault_. So it almost felt as if he had betrayed her. He still believed that she wouldn't understand if he told her the whole truth. How could she? How could anyone?

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She walked at his side in silence for some time. So, it had been as she had expected it. What she hadn't been aware of was how it must have felt to be part of a telepathic species. Feeling the others all the time, as he'd just claimed. And now it was all gone. It must be horrible. She could hardly imagine it, and she felt so sorry for him that her heart was aching.

She had to think about her old friend Gucky. Not that he had been linked to his people like that, but his homeworld also had been destroyed, leaving him all alone. He had found a new home on Earth, and basically he was at terms with that, but sometimes he still felt the loneliness of being the last of his kind. Well, not entirely the last one, there had been a handful others who had survived, but they were dead now. He was one of the immortals. Not because he was the last one, but because of his incredible psychic powers.

So, now he had told her, and it clearly hadn't been easy for him. Meaning that it was her turn now? Not that he had asked again, and she wouldn't talk just to get even, but she had a feeling that he deserved it. Saying nothing right now would have been the perfect way out of all this mess she'd gotten herself into, though. Somehow she knew he would take it rather seriously if she didn't return his trust now. Most likely he wouldn't get angry. Worse, it would hurt him. But did she trust him? She looked at him from the side. She couldn't tell. It was as she had said to him earlier. Trust was something she didn't really need. It had been hard enough for her to learn that she actually had to talk about her feelings, because the others around her weren't empathic. There had been a time when she hadn't been aware of that. When she hadn't known that it was her who was different. She just had assumed that the others knew as she did, but didn't really care about it.

 _Oh hell..._

She couldn't even say what it was about him that made her throw all of her intentions out of the window. Again.

"I hadn't been with my father at this time," she started. "I didn't even know him then. I mean, in person. So no, nothing happened to me in nineteen-seventy-one. It was almost a year later."

He just looked at her, obviously waiting for her to continue.

"Missing years, you remember? Some of them were from nineteen-seventy-two on. Four-hundred and fourteen years, exactly. From one moment to the next I ended up in the central control room of one of our battleships, surrounded by two of the people who had landed on the moon not only a year ago and some aliens. And a nice few into deep space on the main screen. It was the STARDUST VI. Not that it really matters." She hit again after a gnat and crossed her arms. "Funny thing is, now four-hundred years doesn't seem _that_ long. But back then... It was an eternity. Like another universe. I mean, I was always a bit into all those things, like time travel, aliens... Even before there was prove that we weren't the only ones in the universe. But suddenly being four-hundred years in my own future, with everybody I've ever known dead for centuries... My parents, my brother, my friends..."

"You had your father," he said and laid his arm around her shoulder. Right then she realised she was shivering despite the warm temperatures. It still were around twenty-five degrees Celsius, plus the concrete they were walking on was still radiating the heat of the day.

"Yeah. First, I didn't know for about half a year that he was my father. Second, when I found out, well... Things didn't go that well."

"And there it sounded as you liked him..."

"I do, now. But he has a talent of messing things up when it comes to his offspring. He didn't know anything about me, not how I grew up, who my parents were, nothing. At least he remembered the one-night-stand with my mother. Didn't really surprise me, she had always been a bit off to the side in her marriage. Would have never guessed that, however. Anyway, he didn't dare tell me for quite a while. Basically he thought I wasn't able to deal with it at that time. Thought there had been enough for me to handle already. But mostly he was just afraid how I would react, that I might turn against him. He might have been old back then, and has dealt with so many things, but he was still only human. I found out, and things got worse. He was the Head of the Solar Empire, I was.. well, a hippie, an idealistic pacifist, despising politics, military and everything remotely connected with it."

"Quite a few things to deal with, hm?" he said and gently brushed with his hand over her upper arm. She gave him a questioning look. "Mosquito," he said. "But things worked out, didn't they? How old were you back then? Eighteen? How did you deal with it?"

"Deal with it? I didn't. I somehow got through it, but I've never dealt with it, I'm afraid. I hoped for quite a while that there would be some way back. I mean, I made it into the future, why wouldn't it possible to go back? Even if it would have only been for a short while. To say goodbye to everyone. Tell them not to worry. For them it must have seemed as if I had fallen off the planet. I don't know what was worse, missing them and knowing that they were dead for all this time now, or the knowledge how much pain I might have caused them. Anyway. I was a mess back then. Nothing mattered any more, not what I had done so far, not the people around me, not what the future might bring, not even my own life. Who could have told me where I would end up next? For me, there was no guarantee that I really would stay in this time, knowing now that it was so easy to end up somewhere else. If you can't rely on the progression of time, on what then? That's the basic thing to place your trust in, at least when you're human. Everything had become... irrelevant. Somehow I got through it, but ...Anyway, I have no intention to bring it all back again. That's why I avoid talking about it, why I hadn´t wanted to return here, and certainly not now of all times, now that..."

 _Everything is repeating itself._

She bit her lip instead of finishing that sentence. She had been so young back then. No comparison to who she was now. He pulled her closer to him, stroking over her upper arm. This time there were no gnats. She let it happen, even leaned her head against his shoulder. Right now she felt she was in free fall, and she really needed someone to hang on to.

"How did that happen anyway? Doesn't sound like accidentally falling through time."

"No. Have I ever mentioned _It_?"

"What?" he asked, a bit puzzled. "You have to be a bit more precise than just asking for _it_..."

" _It_. That's what he calls himself. Or, itself. It's not him, not really. I don't know if something like this exists in your universe, but in mine it's the next step in evolution for some species. _It_ basically is the mental essence of a whole species. They'd given up their physical existence. _It_ appears to be an old man, at least to others. I never understood it, to me It looks... weird. Like its face is changing constantly, somehow blurry. Don't know, it's hard to describe."

"There's nothing like that in this universe," he said after thinking for a moment.

"Well, that's good I guess. I really hold a grudge against him, sort of." That wasn't entirely true. Basically, she knew that It was a friend of humanity, even though they were basically an auxiliary for him. But that's just how things were in her world. Doesn't change that It's sense of humour just wasn't to her taste.

"But I have told you about these Entities where these things come from?" she said and tugged at the egg-shaped pendant.

"Yeah."

"There are exactly three of them which are calibrated. Mine, my father's and Atlan's. It had happened billions of years before we were even born. It was the task of It to finally find us. And It did. Obviously, It can also travel in time. One day he walked up to me, it was the 23th of March in seventy-two, took me by the hand, mumbled something about finally finding me, and well. The rest I've just told you."

"But why? Would have been easier to just get you to your father in this year?"

"Yeah, don't ask me. It later told me something about timelines, and that this was the only way, blah blah blah. Well, I told it where it can shove its timelines. In detail. Several times, actually."

"You did _what_?"

"Told him what I thought about all this. In a very colourful way. It thought it was hilarious. I was almost afraid that it would laugh itself to death."

"So, how are these Entities and this... It connected then? And what do they want with you?"

"Oh dear, that's a long story. A lot of _wibbly wobbly_ universe- stuff."

"Really? Only wibbly wobbly stuff? No timey-wimey?" he grinned at her.

"A bit of that as well. Seriously, it is a long story. Maybe some other time, if you're interested."

Meanwhile they had reached the rocket. They were still staying in the dark, keeping away from any surveillance cameras.

"Could be a long night," she said, as she looked at the rocket. It really was huge. Not to mention the launch pad and the launch tower.

* * *

 _Booklover0608 : Thank you for giving it a try and I´m glad you seem to like it. Liebe Grüße aus dem Norden :-)_

 _Lucifae, bored411 and 10th Squad 3rd seat: As always thanks for reviewing it!_

 _Special thanks to Lady Shagging Godiva for beta-reading this Chapter. I have already corrected it. :-)_


	26. Chapter 26 - One Small Step Pt 4

**Chapter XXVI**

 _Doctor's POV_

They were walking down the road that surrounded the Launch Complex 39A. The road formed an eight-sided polygon with the actual Launch Pad with the rocket on it in its centre. The Launch Pad was standing on a raised concrete structure that was bisected by the flame trench. For launch it would be flooded with water. The Doctor couldn't see anyone near the rocket, not even guards. Maybe they were somewhere inside the buildings under the Launch Pad. Most likely they fled the mosquitos.

On the other hand, right now there wasn't much to do. The preparations were finished for now, besides they had all hands full to do at the Control Center. Fuelling wouldn't be until tomorrow evening or night.

Thankfully, the Mobile Service Structure, a hug metal structure providing access for maintenance and last preparations, was still hugging the rocket adverse to the Launch Tower. The Mobile Service Structure would be removed tomorrow, leaving only the Launch Tower. _If_ they were able to find the explosives and the seeds. Well, the explosives would be enough for his taste, but the seeds would make things much easier.

"Doesn't look like it's fuelled yet," Mira said as they paused and looked over to the launch areal.

"No, they do that tomorrow evening or at night."

"Would have been a bit cold otherwise. The hull of the Stardust was so cold from the liquid oxygen that the humidity of the air condensed on it. There was pulverised ice falling off the rocket during lift off. "

"Same will happen here," he replied. "'I don't think anyone's here, do you?"

"Hm... Hard to say. Do they have cameras?"

"Maybe."

"Well... Worst thing to happen is that they'll delay the start if they catch us. Something we ourselves have to make sure of anyway, if we don't find the explosives. So, I might say we just walk over and start searching."

"Well,..." he said and scratched his head. "And I might say you're right. Come on!"

Not ten minutes later they had reached the Launch Pad undiscovered. As soon as they had climbed the few stairs to the platform, Mira almost instantly vanished beneath it. Or, more precise, vanished in the space between the rocket and the launch pad, where the huge nozzles of the engines of the first stage stuck through.

"Holy shit, look at _that_!"

"Don't fall down!" His hearts skipped a beat when he saw where exactly she was crawling around. There was a cut-out in the Launch Pad for the nozzles and the flames later. It went steep down for a few yards to the floor of the flame trench. All in all it was high enough for humans to shatter their bones.

"Nah, I'm not going to fall. But you _have_ to look at this. It's beautiful! Really, come!"

He finally gave in and followed her. Yeah, she was right, it was beautiful. Huge, basic rocket engines directly from stone age from his point of view. But at the same time the essence of space travel. Just how basically every species going out into space had started. Raw and at the same time the hight of rocket engineering at this time.

"It's a shame," she said suddenly.

"What?"

"Well, how long will it burn? Two minutes? Then off it goes. I don't think they'll use it again, do they?"

"No. It'll burn for around one-hundred and sixty-five seconds. That's it."

"Cool," she said approvingly. "How much kerosene did you say? Something around six-hundred and fifty tones? Going through five engines in not only three minutes." She swung herself a bit farther under the rocket, holding on to the engine fairings.

"Careful!" She had been a bit too jaunty in his eyes and he could almost see her fall – so at the next moment he was at her side and holding her around the waist, guiding her away from the hole in the launch pad.

"Hey!" She turned around as he let go of her. "You really believed I'm about fall?"

"Well, we don't have to put it to the test, do we?"

She shook her head and turned to the engines once more. "What's the thrust? Five or six mega-Newton, each, I might say..."

"Six point seven-seven," he replied. "Let's not forget why we're here, hm?"

"Yeah. I really like to see them firing in two days and lift this whole thing into space. And without an explosion, if possible."

"Not such an unusual sight for you, is it? Although, your two point five kilometre ships don't land, do they? And by land, I mean properly, being able to start again. Who uses the metric system anyway?"

"We do, mostly. And yes, they can land properly. And start again."

"Really?"

"They do so at Crest Space Port in Terrania rather frequently. With impulse engines. Basically a rocket engine. But with hyper-structural force-fields instead of thrust chambers and a particle stream as fast as the speed of light. You should really see – and most of all – hear that. It's like the lift off of a mountain."

"Your lot really uses these engines for lift off?" To him it sounded like burning down their whole space port every time.

She looked at him, one brow raised, the corners of her mouth twitching. "Of course not. They normally lift off with anti-gravity engines until a certain altitude is reached. Seeing a ship like that starting with impulse drives is impressive, but also a bit... devastating. And, I might say, a space ship as big as a mountain lifting off in complete silence with its anti-gravity engines is even more impressive than that." She sighed deeply. "I think even you might be slightly impressed by that," she said sadly, gave the rocket nuzzles one last look and then pointed to the Mobile Service Structure. "I guess it's best we go up the left thing. Better access to the rocket."

"Yeah," he said. "But I don't think we should use the lift. There are a lot of stairs, so if you want...," pointed at the floor. "But please, stay away from the nozzles. It really goes far down."

"What?" She looked at him puzzled. "Oh. No, I'm not waiting here, if that's what you mean. A few stairs won't stop me." She tilted her head back, looking up the rocket. "Say, with this scanning device thing, could you scan the rocket? Maybe there's some alien technology in the explosives or... some alien proteins in the seeds? Alien DNA?"

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira watched as he was scanning the rocket, trying to recall the little she had seen in the plant's mind. "I'm afraid we have to search the whole bloody rocket," she finally said, absent mindedly scratching the mosquito bites on her arm. "I don't think it would make sense to bring the seeds higher than the stratosphere. At most. They're supposed to come down again somehow, without playing meteorite. I might be wrong, but I guess it's as far as the rocket gets with the first stage? So we can't even rule out the first stage."

"Yeah, stratosphere at most. It'll reach an altitude of around forty-two miles with the first stage," he said. "Actually a bit higher than the stratosphere goes."

"Dammit."

"But I think I've found the seeds," he said and pointed upward.

Mira tilted her head again, following his finger, which was pointing straight up, with her eyes. "Seriously?"

He nodded.

"All the way up there? _All_ the way?"

"Yupp. Right under the launch escape system. That's the little peak at the top..."

"Great."

They started to climb up the stairs. As they had reached the first platform, which was attached to the Mobile Service Structure and ran around the rocket between the first and second stage, she gave the rocket a closer look. The hull was painted black and white and was riffled between the two stages. The charges for the separation of the stages were already attached. There must also be small retrorockets somewhere to pull the expended stage away from the vehicle. She turned around to follow the Doctor farther up the structure, as it suddenly hit her like a flash of lightning.

 _Oh... Wonderful. Not._

There were even more things flanged to the hull. She could very well imagine what they were...

"Shit." She climbed down the narrow stairs again and walked back on the platform.

"What's it with all the swearing?" the Doctor asked accusingly, as he turned around and got at her side.

"We're looking for explosives."

"Yeah?"

"I think we've just found them," she said, knocking at the hull next to one of the charges.

"What? Where?" He looked back and forth between her and the rocket, obviously not yet drawing the connection between these charges and what they were looking for.

She returned his look slightly stunned, before tapping directly on the charge.

"What? What do you mean? Oh..." He looked quite startled as it finally dawned on him.

"Yes. Why bother and put additional charges somewhere, if you already have those?"

"Well..."

They couldn't remove them, for they were essential. No charges, no stage separation.

"They're not strong enough to blow up the rocket, but if they're set off with the first stage still at full thrust, the rocket will just break apart, igniting the rest of the fuel. And I guess they're not the only ones, are they?"

"No, there're more," he said quietly. "Charges that actually _are_ meant for blowing up the rocket in flight in case it veers off course, directly over the fuel tanks."

"Remote controlled?"

"Sure. Would be pointless otherwise."

"I'll make salad out if it," she whispered under her breath.

"What?" She couldn't help herself, but he seemed to be genuinely shocked.

"Just kidding," she said, one brow raised. "Besides, I doubt it's very tasty, too old and chewy. It's dying."

"Well, doesn't give it the right to blow up the rocket and kill three people."

"Or to spread its offshoot over the planet. Mankind enslaved by psychic plants? No thanks."

"Enslaved? Did it say that?"

"No. But it can do so. And I don't know what your experiences are, but most species I've met so far did what they did because they _could_. And yes, that includes humanity."

"Well, let's get the seeds and then have a talk with it again."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

Little time later they reached the top of the structure. The command module, and basically everything from the third stage upwards was completely enveloped by an almost building-like structure with multiple floors, making the launch escape system easily accessible. Otherwise they would have have to climb on the bridge that lead to the entrance of the command module. In over three-hundred and sixty feet hight.

It didn't take long to find the melon-sized capsule with the seeds in it. He wondered how no one had seen it so far, but on the other hand, the plant had had time enough to influence the people here. He had just removed it, as he heard steps. Someone was coming. For a moment he and Mira locked their gazes. She had obviously also heard it. The steps were coming from downstairs. Well, seemed as their way back was cut of. Mira turned her head and he followed her eyes. They were a little above the bridge that was leading to the Launch Tower. There was no time to get inside, but it would be easy to climb over it's top to the Launch Tower. Hopefully no one was coming up the launch tower.

"I don't think we're discovered," Mira whispered. "Whoever is coming is not suspicious."

"Good. Let's get over the bridge."

"Oh hell..."

"You're not afraid of heights?" he asked, almost on the bridge.

"No. But I don't particularly like it."

Despite that, she followed him instantly. The bridge was rather wide, and even on its top was a small rail on both sides. But, he had to admit, it was really high. He peered down, but no one was in sight. They reached the other side and he helped Mira down to the floor. Their was also a lift, but it would be less noticeable to use the steep stairs that were connecting the separate floors.

"I don't think that someone is here," he said after listening for a moment in silence. Mira nodded and they began the long climb downwards. The stairs were almost ladders, and it was quite hard getting down whilst holding the capsule. Once on the ground level, he looked around. There was a car that hadn't been here before. Most likely belonging to the guy on the Service Structure. He looked up, but couldn't see him.

"We can either wait, or take our chances and run," Mira said. "If he has something to do up there, he most likely won't pay attention to what's happening down here."

He considered her suggestion for a moment. They didn't have time to wait, they had to get back to the plant. It was still a whole day till the launch, but the last preparations had to start in less than twelve hours.

"Well...," he began, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Can't you see it in the timelines somehow if we'll make it?"

He looked at her in surprise, but then did as she had asked. "No. Actually... It's all in flux now," he said after a moment.

"Well, then..."

"We run!" he said after he had taken a last look up the Service Structure. If they stayed behind the Launch Tower, it would be hard to spot them. Was a bit of a detour, but the road around the actual launch area was laying in darkness.

He took her by the hand, hurried down the stairs leading from the launch pad to the ground and sprinted over to the road.

There he stopped and looked back at the launch pad, there was no sign that they were discovered.

 **…**

Not much later they had safely gotten back to the car and reached the Control Center. He didn't bother to look upstairs for Rose, for she couldn't get near the plant anyway. As he ran around the last corner, the capsule hidden underneath his cloak and Mira right behind him, he almost collided with a group of men, awaiting him with guns and pry bars in their hands. They were five, standing in front of the door, staring at him out of lifeless eyes, clearly under the influence of the plant. He stopped abruptly as they raised their weapons, Mira bumping against his back.

"Ey guys! Um... No need for hostility, hm?" he said, smiling sheepishly at them, knowing exactly that they couldn't understand him. And the plant surely didn't care. "Well, before you do something stupid," he began, trying to shove Mira protectively behind his back again, in vain. She didn't move an inch, despite the effort he put in it, "I have something you might be interested in."

"Maybe I can break its influence," Mira whispered in his ear.

"Oh, wait a moment," he replied and pulled out the capsule. Almost instantly the men approached, reaching out to grab it, but he hold it high above his head. "Uh, not so fast." The men hesitated. "It's over, you know that, don't you? Your dying. And I'm the only one who might be able to help you now. Kill me and you and your children won't make it. How much time do you have left? Days? A week? Not enough to try it again. All the things you've done demanded time. It was a good plan, I've to admit. Really. Well, by saying good, I mean not elegant or overly clever, but well, it was good. Considering you're a plant. Using the explosives of the rocket, influencing all these people. And now you've lost."

"Are you that sure?" one of the men said monotonously, his eyes still staring into space.

"Yeah, actually I am." He felt Mira tugging at his sleeve. "What?"

Before she could answer, the man who had just spoken opened the door. Then he saw her. Rose. She was shackled with ropes, and roots and branches were winding around her, particularly around her neck.

"What have you done? Well, that was a mistake. A big mistake!" he yelled at the plant as he rushed into the room, shoving the men out of the way. They didn't hold him back, and he just slammed the door shut with them on the outside, locking it with his Sonic, after making sure that Mira had followed him inside.

"I'm sorry," Rose said with a thin voice.

He hurried over to her. She seemed to be unharmed and not under the influence of the plant right now. "I'll get you out there, I promise," he said to her. He pulled at a branch that was winding around her waist, but it didn't move at all. In contrary, it seemed to meet his try with resistance and pulling in the opposite direction.

"Ow!" he whined and spun around as he suddenly felt an ungentle pull at his hair. He caught Mira's wrist before she could pull at his hair again and stared into her black eyes. Great. But at least now he could talk with this overgrown vegetable. "Don't do that!" he said, now dangerously quiet. Not that he was afraid that she could seriously harm him, but he on the other hand didn't want to injure Mira's body. She – or it – was still trying to wind her wrist out of his grip.

"Give that to me!" she demanded, reaching with her free hand for the capsule, put he lifted it out of her reach. Now she launched herself at him, so he had to roughly push her away, still holding her arm. "Stop it! Don't hurt her. You already have Rose, trust me, that's enough trouble for you!"

Suddenly, her eyes lost focus for a moment, her body stiffened and she gave up her resistance. "She doesn't agree with attacking you," she said eventually, looking back at him. "She threw me out once, so I think it's best to obey. For now."

"Good." He cautiously let go of her wrist, still holding out his arm to keep her at distance. "So, can we talk now?"

"There's nothing to talk! You'll put that back. Now!" she spat at him.

"You don't get it, do you? It's over. I won't put it back. You tell me who's supposed to send the signal to blow up the rocket."

"No! Put it back or not, it'll blow up anyway!"

"And kill three innocent people?"

"Who cares? They whole planet is crawling with them. Three more or less won't make any difference."

"Won't make any difference? For someone so attached to its children," he shook the capsule, making her wince, "you're really cruel towards other lifeforms. Maybe you should look in her mind for something called empathy and compassion!"

"What do you care? They're not your people either."

"That's not what it's about! For someone that old you're view is really narrow."

"So what's it about then? The whole planet is full of them. I just want to survive. Three of them is a little price for that. Besides, have you any idea what damage they've done to the plants here just to build this space?"

He looked at her in surprise. The plant had a point here. Yet still, two wrongs didn't make a right.

"Humans are like that," he said. "They're not always thinking as much as they should. Yes, they damage their environment, without thinking, or because they don't care, or some even deliberately. But they will pay for it and learn, they've got the capacity for that. They can be as good as they can be bad. As compassionate as cruel. I believe in them. Besides, that doesn't give you the right to act like they do. They're young. As a species and as individuals. But no matter what they've done, that's nothing against the damage you will do to their ecosystem. Have you ever thought about that? There's nothing like you on this planet. What do you think will happen, hm?"

"I know that this world is not ideal," she admitted, her gaze lowered to the ground. "But I have no choice. I can't go anywhere else now."

"How did you come here in the first place anyway?"

"My ship crashed here. It was a little pod with a few seeds in it. My ancestors lived on a world with space travel and in a rather supportive relationship with the natives. They helped us to get to other worlds. That's our way. Living in symbiosis with other species." She looked sadly at the capsule out of dark eyes. Her whole posture looked defeated now. It really was old, he suddenly realised. Old, tired and now facing the fact that it might have lost.

"As I said before, I can help you, I promise," he said softly.

"Why should I trust you?" she answered, a hint of the former aggression back in her voice.

Good question. He could have told her to look in Mira's mind to find an answer to this question, but that could very well backfire. Did she trust him by now? He doubted that. She had told him a few things, yes, but somehow he believed that it would take much more for her to really, fully trust in him. Or anyone else.

"I have a space ship. You know who I am, don't you? I'm a Timelord. I can find a planet for you to fit in. I even have a garden. One of your offshoot could grow there if you want. It's a huge garden. Besides, it's your only chance. I wont let you kill these three people, nor let your children grow here."

"What's about the one who calls herself Rose?" It was playing its last trump now.

"Harm her – or Mira – and you won't grow here or on any other planet ever again, I promise you."

She remained silent for a moment and he watched her carefully. She still made no attempt to attack him again. So much for Mira not being aware of what the plant did with her body. Whilst she was considering his offer, a dried leave fell down from the ceiling and landed right on her head. She took it, looked at it and as she turned her gaze to him again he could see the grief in her eyes. Reluctantly, she walked over to him, lifted her arm and paused as if waiting for his approval. He nodded and she softly stroke over the capsule he was still holding. Then it suddenly hit him. It didn't matter that much to the plant if it was dying now, as long as its seeds would grow somewhere. But without that, it would be dead forever. As much as it changed with every generation, there was something that remained. Its very essence. He and this plant were a bit similar in that way. Of course there were others like this plant, her siblings, so to speak, but all the experiences it had made here would be lost forever.

"Take them," she finally whispered. "Don't let me die forever. I'll show her everything you need to know about an adequate planet. Or grow one of my children in your ship. I've never done that before." She looked up to him, before lifting her hand and gently ruffled his hair. "And grow yourself some decent leaves," she smiled softly.

"Just one more thing...," he said, trying to ignore how she – it – was ruffling his hair. "The explosives."

"I influenced one of the workers here to trigger the explosion of the charges for the emergency self destruction at the right height. As soon as I'm dead he'll be free. And there is no need for me to live any longer."

"Who is it?"

"He calls himself Jefferson. So, remember your promise, Timelord."

"I will," he replied sincerely.

She looked at him and he could see how her eyes turned back to normal. He caught her with is free arm as she stumbled against him. Almost immediately there went a rustling through the plant. The branches around the power lines, as well as the roots and everything that was surrounding Rose, retreated to the main body. The leaves turned in colour, dried and finally fell down. He was surprised about the rapid death of the plant, even though it had just told him that there was nothing more to do for it. He hurried over to Rose and freed her from the ropes with his sonic.

"You alright?" he asked and eyed her intently. She seemed to be unharmed.

"Yeah, think so. It didn't harm me."

He pulled her into a tight hug, still holding the capsule. He didn't trust the peace yet.

"Mira, what's with the plant?"

"It's dead now. It was rather exhausted, besides, it had fulfilled its duty. You will take it to another world, won't you?" Mira answered quietly.

"Yeah, surely. I promised it."

"What?" Rose asked bewildered. "Why?"

"Why not? Besides, as said, I promised it."

"It wanted to blow up the rocket. It influenced all these people, and now your helping it?" she looked at him out of wide eyes. She obviously wasn't understanding it.

"Yeah. It was desperate. It obviously wasn't the right world, and in the end, it realised it."

"Well, at least you and it weren't that different, Rose," Mira said. "No understanding for the other side. But, Doctor, we should really chose carefully where we're going to grow it next."

"Oh, so that justified everything, hm? I was standing here the whole night!", Rose yelled at her.

"Rose, I didn't say that. I just said that it was only a huge misunderstanding," Mira answered.

"Oi! No fighting!" he interrupted them.

"But you won't grow it in the TARDIS?" Rose asked.

"Why not?" he watched her. It couldn't influence him, it hat no reason to do so with Rose, and even if it suddenly would forget everything they had agreed on, he could simply replant it. Besides, the garden really was huge, containing a lot of plants from all over the universe already. It should like it there.

"Great. First a horse, now a plant."

"You won't even notice that it's there."

"Yeah whatever. It's your TARDIS." She yawned and he realised how tired she must be.

"Okay, I guess we find a place for you to sleep and tell them that the energy problems are fixed for good. And that they might have a little weed-problem in their cellar. Its dead now, they can't harm it anymore."

"Yeah, it doesn't even look alien," Mira said sadly and looked over to the dead plant.

"Well then, we have to launch a rocket in little more than twenty-four hours!" he exclaimed, rushed to the door, opened it with his Sonic and hurried back through the corridors to the lift, Mira and Rose close behind him.

* * *

 _Lucifae, Bored411, Wicken25, 10th squad 3rd seat, Lady Shagging Godiva: Thanks for your reviews :-)_


	27. Chapter 27 - Tranquility

**Chapter XXVII**

 _Mira's POV_

They made it. Mira almost couldn't believe it, but they actually did make it. As soon as they had told them the reason for the power outages, they'd had a look down to the cellar and immediately moved over to Firing Room One. There just wasn't enough time left to put everything in the other room back together. The Doctor had murmured something about that it had always been Firing Room One, wondering how he'd came up with Room Two and had looked at her with one of his inscrutable looks, but, of course, she hadn't had an answer for him.

It had been a busy day with the last preparations for the launch, and Rose had overslept most of it on a couch in the Control Center. Mira herself had been at the Launch Area, trying to stay out of the way and not to miss anything at the same time. And avoiding the Doctor. After the talk they'd had last night, she'd thought it would be better that way. She knew exactly how inconsistent she was behaving towards him, and she hated it. Like a teenager who was in love for the first time. Not that she was in love. She might have a little crush, but that was it. Although, it wouldn't have been that bad if she would have been only in love. Much less complicated.

Anyway, she'd managed to stay away from him for most of the time. At first they had expected her to get coffee and apart from that to look nice and keep her mouth shut – she had almost forgotten how it had been at this time for a woman. Easy work was fine, meaning no brains involved, and as soon as they've gotten married, they had to quit. But then she had told them a bit about rocket science and physics, causing their jars to drop and then no one had ever asked her again to get him coffee.

Rose came to the Launch Area in the evening with the Doctor, but the poor girl wasn't interested at all in all the preparations and bored herself to death. But she didn't show it, listening to the Doctor in dedication.

Now, at the morning of the next day, they were standing on a VIP tribune to watch the launch. They could have stayed in the Firing Room, but she had wanted to watch it from outside, for the sound and everything. The Doctor had followed her, and so did, of course, Rose. The girl looked a bit ruffled by now, although they'd had a shower at the Control Center and the Doctor had even produced a comp out of the depth of the pockets of his coat.

The launch was scheduled for 09:32 local time. Now it was nine o'clock pm, the Service Structure was already removed and was standing halfway between the Launch Pad and the Assembly Building. The Astronauts were in the rocket by now, and they were currently running the last pre-launch tests. Of course they didn't notice it from here, but she knew enough about these procedures, and there were coming announcements over a speaker. On a huge board was a digital display counting down. T-26 minutes.

She took a look around herself. Everybody was over the moon, and one didn't need to be an empath to notice that. But for her, it was just overwhelming. It was just as it had been in her universe. Of course, back then she hadn't known that she was psychic, but she had gotten lost in this mood just as she dived into it right now. The Doctor was explaining something to Rose, standing a few feet away. She closed her eyes and took it in. It was amazing. Suddenly, she felt an arm around her shoulders and her eyes shot open. It was the Doctor, who else.

"Isn't that great?" he said and smiled manically at her. Rose was standing next to him, and her look told her enough.

"Yeah, it is," she said and reluctantly stepped away, out of his one-armed embrace. She scratched over her arm, although the mosquito-bites were almost gone by now, thanks to her cell-activator. Then she turned her attention to the other people, giving the Doctor and Rose a bit more time together. Even though she didn't see that they would ever get a couple as Rose obviously still hoped, she still believed Rose deserved being around him. There obviously was something between them, something originating from their adventures, that meant something to both of them.

 **…**

"Twenty seconds and counting. T minus 15 seconds, guidance is internal. Twelve, 11, 10, 9, ignition sequence starts...," announced the voice over the speakers. All eyes were on the rocket now. She couldn't help herself but to grin like a Cheshire cat, although it could still go wrong, couldn't it? It was a rocket launch after all. The Doctor had said that it was all fine now, but still... Suddenly the huge engines ignited. Flames shot out under the rocket, and a deep, thunderous sound filled the air. It was incredibly loud, even though they were quite far away from the Launch Area. She could not only hear it, but feel it with her whole body. Basically everything was vibrating with it. It was an inferno of flames and noise. And of dark smoke, engulfing the vehicle completely within seconds. Finally, the rocket lifted off, emerging the cloud of smoke. Surprisingly fast, considering it's size. It was a majestic sight as the white, huge and yet slender vehicle was rising into the blue sky on a trail of flames. The Doctor was right, she was used to the sight of something lifting off into space, but this was different. And besides that, she was still able to see the beauty in it, even after all these years. The people around her cheered and applauded, and she could do nothing but watch, knowing exactly what it meant to them, feeling tears of emotion in her eyes. The loud sonic boom about a minute after launch made her startle, although she had expected it. Suddenly she found herself hugged again, lifted off her feet, turned around and placed on the ground again. Oh hell, he really was enthusiastic about it.

"Your lot is brilliant! Brilliant!" he said with a big grin that she had to return, blinking the tears away. Even Rose was seemingly excited now. Well, who couldn't be?

 **...**

About fifteen minutes later, as Apollo 11 had reached orbit, the Doctor took Rose and her by the hand and they walked the long way back to the TARDIS. He didn't bother to say goodbye to anyone. She didn't ask why, and, apart from that, the people here were busy enough right now.

Back in the old time-ship they ate something in the kitchen and then Rose and Mira said good night to the Doctor, although it had been not even noon outside. Not that this would matter, the TARDIS was in flight again, and she had hardly taken the natural rhythm of day and night into account for ages now. She was tired, and she had time to sleep, that was all that mattered to her. Well, she was tired as long as she had showered, removed all the make-up from her face and washed her hair.

As she was finally laying in her bed she suddenly couldn't even keep her eyes closed. The fact that she couldn't get the last days out of her mind didn't help either. It hadn't been as bad as she had dreaded it, but it had left her strangely agitated and it had intensified the feeling of being lost and misplaced that was creeping, along with other rather unpleasant feelings, at the corner of her mind, waiting to strike when the time was right. And then there was him. Now she knew what had happened to his people. Well, not really. At least she knew that her assumptions were right. But how could he be the only survivor? She still didn't know what had really happened. Did the species that had attacked them still exist? Were they after him? And above all it was her own behaviour towards him that bothered her. But well, not that it was completely her fault. He just couldn't leave her alone, could he? And she honestly doubted that he ever would as long as she was staying with him. Even though she had decided to stay, it hadn't become any easier. Not with him and not with Rose. But she wouldn't leave. Not now. She had made up her mind. Plus, there was nowhere to go for her. So, unless he would ask her to leave, Rose had to live with her.

She sighed and looked at the clock. One hour. She was turning from side to side for a whole hour. She sat up, turned on the light and stretched her neck. Yoga would be the thing to do now, good for her neck and maybe help her sleep. But she was in absolutely no mood for it now, so she decided to take a walk. The TARDIS was huge enough, and maybe she was able to find the observatory again. Look a bit at the stars. And avoid to bump into the Doctor, who would surely be in the library or the console room. Did he even have a room for himself? He really didn't seem to sleep that much.

Not five minutes later she stood in the corridor, dressed in a black shirt and black trousers, wrapped in a knitted black cardigan. She was thinking for a moment, then headed for the library. A book would be nice, and maybe he wasn't there. As she stood in front of the door, she listened for a moment, but there was no sound. She opened the door cautiously. The library was empty, at least as far she could see. Quickly she stepped in and browsed along the shelves. She had no idea what she wanted to read, just something to distract her a bit. No Lovecraft right now. Right at this moment, a book fell out of the shelf above her head. It hit her on the head, not that hard, and she caught it before it could continue its way to the ground. She looked around, rubbing her head, but there was no one there, and the shelf had a back wall. There was no way the book could have just fallen out of there on it's own. She looked at the title.

 _The last Unicorn – Peter S. Beagle._

One of her favourite stories. She could almost recite it, but that didn't stop her from reading it from time to time again.

"Thanks," she murmured. Most likely it had been the TARDIS. She was used by now that the old time-ship always was in her mind and sometimes she did things like that. "Now you could tell me where the observatory is." No answer. Of course. Well, she had to search for it on her own then, hopefully without getting lost. Although she doubted that that was possible, with the TARDIS knowing everything about her passengers. "You will give me a hint, before I starve to death or something like that, wouldn't you?" She had the distinct feeling that the TARDIS liked her, besides the not so good start they'd had.

She left the library and headed in a direction that let away from the console room, at least that was what she thought. And finally, after she had felt a gentle tugging on her mind whenever she stood at a junction she reached the observatory. No one was there, and she sat down on a couch at the rear end of the room. It was a huge, comfortable sofa with a corner and a high back, upholstered with dark blue, soft, velvet-like fabric. There even was a plaid in a blue just like the TARDIS on the outside, and she wrapped herself in it after she had taken off her shoes. Then she looked up to the universe that spread above her head. The dome was so clear and showing no reflections, that it almost didn't seem to exist, making her feel like floating in space. It was a beautiful sight, but it also made her realise once more that it wasn't her universe. It didn't feel like hers. It felt shifted, wrong, and almost as if repelling her. Well, that last part was probably just in her mind, but nevertheless, it reminded her that she wasn't a part of it. She shuddered and opened the book, just staring at the first page and savouring the peace and silence down here. Or up here. Who could say that in a ship like the TARDIS. She was at page five as the door opened slowly and the Doctor peered into the observatory. Oh good lord, no hiding on this ship.

"Here you are!" he said and smiled at her.

"Yeah," she said and closed the book. "Do you have something to do here? Shall I go?"

"What? What should I have to do?"

"I don't know?"

"Nah, nothing to do. Just wanted to check on you. I thought you wanted to sleep," he replied, walked over to her and collapsed on the couch next to her, right in the corner, stretching his legs out on the couch.

 _Yeah, sure. And that's why you were searching for me all over the ship?_

Wait. Did he really have to search? She mentally thanked the TARDIS with a distinct sarcastic tone. The response – a feeling of amusement in her mind – followed swiftly.

"Yes, I wanted to sleep. Didn't work out as planned, obviously," she answered and hardly suppressed a yawn.

"Why?" he simply asked, looking at her as if suddenly nothing else was important, sending chills down her spine.

"How should I know? Humans just can't sleep sometimes. Simple as that."

"Yeah, and mostly there's a reason for it. What are you reading?" He grabbed the book, which was lying on here knees, and looked at it. "Oh. That's beautiful. I've read it... Oh, a lot of times. Not as often as Shakespeare, though."

"You haven't read all the books in your library, have you?" she asked, closed her eyes and stretched herself, producing a nasty cracking sound from her neck. Not that the last days had been that exhausting, but they had been long nevertheless.

"Yupp," he answered.

Suddenly she almost jumped and then stiffened as she felt slightly cool hands at her nape. Pleasantly cool, not the nasty cold that came with a low blood pressure in humans. Her eyes shot open and she stared at the Doctor, who stared back, probably as bewildered by her reaction as she was from the sudden touch.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. Just wanted to massage your neck," he said and lowered his hands.

She looked back and forth between his face and his hands. Gorgeous hands with beautiful, long and slender fingers. "No, it's fine...," she heard herself say without being aware of _what_ she'd just said.

 _Intentions, anyone?_

She couldn't even say why her self-control completely went to hell every time she was around him. She normally had quite a lot of self-control, but with him it tended to melt away like snow in the sun.

It was his something in his presence, something that surrounded him that made him feel so incredibly familiar, she suddenly realised. Not the little she knew about him by now. Being close to him was touching parts of her soul that had been lonely for too long by now. She couldn't say what exactly that was, maybe it had to do with the psychic abilities they were both possessing. She wondered how it was for him. On one hand she was still bothered by the fact that she couldn't get any of his feelings, on the other hand it was incredibly relaxing to be with someone who didn't shower her in emotions she had to deal with, in addition to her own.

He gestured her to turn her back to him. She did so and put her hair to the side, and he moved a bit closer. For a moment she wondered how much he knew about human anatomy and how similar or different it was to his own, when it came to bone-structure and muscles, because clearly at least his internal organs were different, for he had two hearts. And his body temperature seemed to be a bit lower. The few times they were hugging or he was standing really close to her, she had felt that his breath had been surprisingly cold against her skin. In her universe, even the Arkons were different to humans, their ribcage had expanded to form an almost plate-like structure for example, even though technically they and humans had the same ancestors.

Every doubt she might have had about his knowledge of human anatomy vanished as he began to gently knead the stiff muscles of her neck and shoulders, after pulling down her cardigan a bit. It was just perfect. Not too firm, but with enough pressure to actually loosen her muscles.

"Could you put that off for a moment?" he asked and tugged at the silver chain that held her pendant. She reached up and behind her neck, feeling for the almost invisible clasp and pulled at it as she had found it. She hadn't figure out by now how it worked, because pulling at the chain itself didn't open it. If it was about pulling at the right spot or about the intention in her mind to actually open it, she didn't know. As she held it in her hand, he continued, stroking along the spine of her neck with light pressure. She closed her eyes for a moment and almost sighed. She could let him do that for hours. At least this time Mickey won't bump in. But...

"Where's Rose?" she asked softly, opened her eyes again and peered over to the door.

"Why?" he asked, his voice surprisingly close.

"Well, would be a tiny bit suboptimal if she would come in right now."

"Why? We're not doing anything. I'm just massaging your neck."

"Yeah. Remember Mickey? We were just hugging. Wonder how he's doing now..."

"Fine, I guess. He's Mickey, after all. And Rose is sleeping," he said after a short pause. "Besides, I doubt she knows about the observatory."

"Sure?"

"Yes. She just told me that she's sleeping in her room."

"The TARDIS told you?" Well, that had just confirmed her suspicion about the old ship telling him about the whereabouts of her passengers.

"Yupp."

She winced as he reached a particularly painful spot at her right shoulder, next to her spine.

"You're almost constantly pulling your right shoulder slightly up," he said.

"Yeah, I know. Doing this for a long time now. Gets worse when I haven't slept for a while."

"Maybe you humans aren't made for staying up that long?"

"Maybe. But we're also not made for travelling through space. Otherwise we would be able to survive the vacuum and the temperatures out there."

She could hear him chuckle behind her back. Then he stopped for a moment as he touched a spot on her right shoulder, just between her shoulder blade and the shoulder joint, then pulled the collar of her shirt to the side. "What's that?" he asked and she could feel his fingers stroking over this spot. He really had to touch everything. Well, she could always ruffle his hair in return.

"A scar?"

"Oh, really? Would have never guessed that. Hm. It almost looks like..." He leaned closer and suddenly his head was next to her's as he peered over her shoulder to look for the round scar on the opposite side, not without pulling at her shirt again.

"Hey, would you mind?" She turned her head only to look directly into his dark, endless eyes.

"Sorry," he said instantly with a guilty look on his face and pulled the shirt carefully back into place. "What happened? Did someone stab you? No, looks more like some sort of..."

"... Arrow."

"Ow," he said and pulled a face.

"Yes. Although, pulling it out was worse than being shot. You probably can imagine the medical conditions at a place where they shoot at each other with arrows."

"You have a habit of putting yourself in danger, haven't you?"

"I've done my best to avoid arrows ever since," she replied with all possible dignity and a lop-sided grin. "So, what's your relationship with her? I mean, the TARDIS. It seems almost symbiotic. If you don't mind me asking," she decided to change the topic, before she had to do any further explaining about the scar and why it was still there, although it would have been easy to remove it. Besides, she really found it interesting what was with him and his ship.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He was kneading the muscles in her left shoulder as he was thinking about an answer. Not thinking about to answer at all, only how to get to the point. It was strange. The mood between them was serene and peaceful, not as if walking over a minefield or teasing each other. Not that he didn't like all that teasing and challenging somehow, it was nice to have someone who not only hit back at him – figuratively of course - but also had her own opinions about topics he could hardly discuss with humans. Not only was the science where she came from incredibly advanced, but she also had a certain grasp of the science around time and time-travel. Even though she stated it to be only her personal belief without any hard prove, it still startled him every time he heard her talking about it.

But right now, they were actually just talking. No meaningless small talk, but being as far from fighting as possible. In fact, there suddenly was some sort of a deeper understanding between them. It was not yet telepathic, but it definitely went beyond just sitting together and talking. Plus, he couldn't feel her psychic shields. If it was deliberate or if she was just too exhausted from making contact with the plant, he couldn't tell.

 _We have to plant one of its seeds tomorrow._

"It is symbiotic, sort of," he eventually said. "It's not like we can't live without each other, but we are linked. Physically linked. There's something called symbiotic nucleus, specific to Timelords. It's needed to form a symbiotic link with a TARDIS."

"Are you born with this nucleus? Or what exactly is this?"

"That's a long story," he said and smiled softly. "But no, it's not there from the beginning. But without it you can't operate a TARDIS." He rested his hands now on her shoulders, leaning back into the corner of the couch, pulling her backwards with him. She followed his movement and came to lay in his arms. He was surprised for a moment that she didn't protest. Probably she didn't complain because it had occurred to her as naturally as it had to him at this moment. She just freed her arms to put on her necklace, before leaning against him again.

"You're linked to one specific TARDIS?"

"Yeah. They choose us. Although, in this case, I've borrowed her."

"Oh, _borrowed_. I see... So, this is a very close connection, isn't it? I mean, she is definitely attached to you."

"You can say so. She's been a part of me for a very long time now. And now, that we're the only ones left in this universe from my people... I feel her, always. She's in my mind. I mean, we're not actually talking to each other. She's sentient, but not in a way you might think, although she definitely has a mind of her own. It's more like..."

"An emotional connection? I don't think you always need words. Sometimes you're so much closer to someone without the need for words. Just the feeling of not being alone, of being connected to someone," she said softly.

"Yes.. I guess that's what it is."

"That's really amazing."

"Do you think so? It doesn't bother you? Most humans find it weird..."

"Why should it bother me? I really think it's wonderful. I mean, I can feel her too, if only just a little bit. And she had thrown a book at me." She waved with the book.

"Really? Well, she does things like that when she likes someone."

"I just wonder that Rose is not jealous of her. I mean, this connection between you and the TARDIS sounds pretty... intimate to me. Something that she could never have with you. It basically goes against everything your average human wants if they're in love with someone. Like exclusiveness."

He considered it for a moment. Rose jealous of the TARDIS? Not a pleasant thought. "She doesn't really know about it, I guess. I've never told her," replied.

"Oh."

They remained silent for a while. It was true, he hadn't told her. Actually, there was a lot he hadn't told her. Not because he wanted to keep it from her deliberately, but because she wouldn't understand. It would have been pointless. Rose was great when they were on some foreign planet and about to save the day, but when it came to these sort of things, or anything else connected with science, she lost interest rather quickly. She was trying, he could tell, but she just wasn't into it. Maybe she really was too young. Despite the impression he might have given to Mira, he actually had thought a lot about Rose and his relationship to her lately. He had realised that he probably had projected a lot of things into it that had never been and never would be there. Maybe he just had spent too much time amongst humans, that he had given in to the illusion, he could get close to them in the way Rose wanted to. But it had been exactly that: An illusion. He couldn't give her what she wanted and deserved, neither could she give him what he wanted. They were to different, a fact that humans seemed to forget every now and then. He might look like them, but he was as far from being human as anyone could be.

He finally grabbed the book that was lying on her lap.

"Where were you?"

"What? Why?"

"Oh, I was just thinking that a little reading out loud might help you to sleep."

"Really?" she said and he could here the smile in her voice.

"Yeah, why not? And don't say you're too old for this."

"Oh well, fine. Yet I don't think it'll work. Read whatever part you like, I've read the book a few times myself, so I know it inside out."

He opened it at chapter three, just where the Unicorn was trapped in the cage at the Midnight Carnival and Schmendrick the Magician came back at night to free her. That part about seeing – or more likely – not seeing others for what they really are. He had hardly read three pages when her head sunk heavy against his chest and her breathing became calm and deep, indicating that she had fallen asleep. He put the book aside and laid his arms around her. He considered for a moment to lift her up and carry her to her room, but she would just wake up. Besides, rather unusual for his manic self, the thought of sitting here with her like that for a few hours didn't bother him that much. Even he was longing from time to time for some peace of mind, and it was right now that he realised how much he had missed it. Right at this moment, sitting in the TARDIS, holding her warm body in his arms and listening to her soft breathing and the slow beating of her single, human heart, the universe slowly turning with the spin of the TARDIS above his head. He only regretted that he couldn't see her face as he placed a gentle kiss on her head.

* * *

 _AxidentlGoddess, Lucifae, Wicken25, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, heroherondaletotherescue and bored411: Thanks for the reviews :-)_


	28. Chapter 28 - The Impossible Planet Pt 1

**Chapter XXVIII**

 _Mira's POV_

She hadn't even realised that she fell asleep. It had just been too cosy and peaceful laying in his arms and listening to his soft voice with this lovely British accent, reading that beautiful words. She loved this book and the magic of its lines. She knew that they shouldn't do that. Or at least, that she shouldn't be doing this, even though she couldn't even say at this moment, why not. Was it so wrong to allow herself to feel safe in his arms, just for a moment? To not be the one who always had to care for others, not only because she was so often their superior but due to her age and experience? Where she did come from, people always looked up to her – at least the ones who knew her, and even more so if they were humans. Well, there was still her father, but even she herself had become something like a legend by now. She was a part of human history, had shaped it together with a handful of others, and no matter if she wanted it or not, she had to live up to it now. Not that she didn't feel capable of it, although she had moments when she doubted herself and her decisions – probably more than it was good for her – but most of all it had made her lonely.

And living amongst the other immortals had separated her even more from humanity. It were people like Rose who were showing to her quite plainly how different she had become. How Rose was living right here and now, not worrying about things years ahead or in the past, made her realise what she had lost. And how high the price had been she had to pay. Even though she had friends amongst the 'ordinary' humans, it was different. She was different. Not only that they aged and died right in front of her eyes, their lives were completely different. They just had this incredible short amount of time to reach their goals, whatever they might be. They were living in the constant threat that one day it would be too late for their dreams. And then, at the evening of their lives, they could lay back and contemplate about their lives. A thing she would never be able to do. That chance had been gone at the day she had decided to take the cell-activator from _It_.

She had not been forced into this, it had been her decision. And, truth be told, she would do it again, even now. She had been aware of the price to pay, but hell, it had been higher as she had imagined it. She just couldn't connect to normal people and their everyday troubles any more. She had been through all this time and time again, and she knew, however bad it seemed at the moment, it would pass with time. It was like a ninety year old talking to a teenager. Even worse. Not that she didn't care for them and their sorrows, or was looking down at them, but she just had a completely different perspective. And the other way around, everything she had seen and been through seemed so abstract to them, they just weren't able to grasp it. Who could imagine living for even five-hundred years? They could, in an abstract way of thinking, but not truly feeling into it.

And now there he was. She still had now idea if he was old for his people, and how long he had been living amongst humans, but she had the feeling that she could really allow herself to be weak when she was around him. At least a little bit. And at the same time she knew she would lose him, sooner or later, one way or the other. But she wanted so much to give into this, just for this moment, just for now. She knew she would find a way of dealing with it, however it would work out. As she always did. Although she was always wondering how long it would go on like this. How often she would be able to pick herself up again. Wondering, when the final blow would come, the one she would not recover from. She was sure it would come sooner or later, it just couldn't go on like that forever. And forever had a very special meaning in her case.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

The TARDIS had dimmed the lights in the observatory even more. She was sleeping for around four hours now, and even he had slept for almost an hour. Fifty-seven minutes, to be exact. He had been afraid that he would be bored to death by now, but instead he was still watching the stars, feeling rather calm and relaxed himself. Well, maybe he would reconsider it in another one or two hours, but then she would probably wake up anyway. Right at this moment she moved slightly in his arms. She was dreaming, he could tell that from her faster breathing and her raised heartbeat. But somehow he got the feeling that it wasn't such a pleasant dream. Just as he had decided to wake her up, she sat up straight with a gasp and tried to shove his arms away.

"Mira, it's alright," he said softly and put his hands on her shoulders. She startled and turned her head around to him, looking at him completely disorientated. He was sitting up straight himself now, his feet on the floor. She was still wrapped in the blanket, her legs folded on the sofa, glancing around as if to orientate herself.

"Hey, it's okay, it was just a dream," he tried it again. She blinked and her eyes were slowly losing the cloudiness of sleep. "You didn't dream of any more black-holes, hm?"

"What?" she finally said, still sounding a bit sleepy, rubbing her face. "No. No black-holes this time."

"What then?"

"Hm? Nothing... Did I sleep? Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Why would I? Wasn't that the point in it? You getting some sleep?"

"Yeah, but... How long?"

"Four hours and eight minutes."

She looked at him in utter confusion. "You were sitting here all the time?"

"Well... basically... Yes."

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"You really should have woke me up. You must have better things to do than to sit here, haven't you?"

"Actually... Nothing that can't wait." He watched as she tried to free herself from the blanket, swinging a leg to the floor and was about to do the same with the other one, but there was still the blanket wrapped around her knees, and he already could see in his mind's eye how this was going to end. He jumped up and caught her just in time as she lost her balance.

"Oh, dammit!" she just said and finally got rid of the blanket.

"You're welcome," he said and let go of her. "You know, it's not the first time that I wonder how you managed to get that old without breaking your neck."

"Well, when it's time, it's time. If it's a blanket or an arrow, nothing one can do about it then. It's just destiny. Right now it obviously wasn't time to die for me."

"Destiny? Really?" He looked at her as he tried to figure out if she was serious about that. She was sitting on the couch now, putting her shoes on.

"Yeah, really," she said and stood up. "Well... I'll go to my room, see if I can sleep for one or two more hours. See you later." She glanced at him for a moment with a strange look in her eyes, and he almost thought she was about to hug him, but then she turned around and left the observatory, almost as if in a hurry. He stood for a while and looked at the door. What did she dream about? Another one of _these_ dreams? Not that he believed that she really could see the future, but she seemed to be convinced by it.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She actually had managed to sleep for a little more, then they'd had breakfast and he had set the controls of the TARDIS to a random location. Random. She had just shaken her head. It seemed as if she wasn't the only one who liked to play with fire here.

Now she followed the Doctor and Rose as they left the TARDIS.

"I dunno what's wrong with her, she's sort of... queasy. Indigestion, like she didn't wanna land," the Doctor said, looking at the TARDIS, stroking the hull.

She had felt it too. Something was wrong with the ship indeed.

"Oh, if you think there's gonna be trouble, we could always get back inside and go somewhere else...," Rose said. Then she and the Doctor looked at each other, before they broke out into laughter. Mira found it less funny and shook her head. Something was wrong with this place, wherever they were, making her bones itch. She looked at the Doctor and caught his glance.

"What?" he asked.

"Maybe we should listen to her and leave," she said and pointed at the TARDIS.

He just shrugged, looked around and said, "I think... we've landed inside a cupboard! Here we go!" and opened the door.

"Open Door 15," a female computer-voice announced.

"Oh, come on, I'm sure it's not that bad," Rose said to her and followed the Doctor.

Great. Just great. Seemed as she had no choice but to follow them. She stepped into corridor after them and stopped in her track.

 _No. Please not. Just no._

She knew this corridor. Not that she had been here before. Well, technically speaking, she had been here. Her future self, right now. This was the corridor she had seen in her dream, the one she had tried to tell the Doctor about.

"Some sort of base... moon base, sea base, space base... they build these things out of kits," he said as he started to walk along the corridor, Rose right next to him. She hurried to follow him, as she heard the whole structure creaking and cracking.

"Glad we're indoors - sounds like a storm out there...," Rose said, looking around her.

"Doctor!" Mira tried it again. "We must leave. Now. Seriously."

"What? Why?" he asked, his hand already on the next door.

"Remember what I've told you? About the dream? Black holes? That's the corridor I've seen. Something is going on here, something really bad. Trust me, we should leave. Now!"

"What dream?" Rose wanted to know.

"Mira," he sighed. "No need to worry. I've told you, that was just a dream. No way you can dream of a place in your future. That's just some generic corridor. There are thousands like this in the universe. You must haven seen similar things before. It's just some sort of deja-vu, hm? No need to worry."

"But..."

He opened the door before she had the chance to continue.

"Open Door 16."

"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you," she murmured under her breath as she followed them, not without noticing how Rose looked at her.

"By the way, we're not alone here," she said, now loud enough for him to hear it.

"Really? Someone hostile?" he turned around but didn't stop walking, looking at her intently.

"No... Don't think so, but..."

"Well then, nothing to worry, hm?"

She just shook her head again and rolled her eyes.

"Human design - you've got a thing about kits. This place was put together like a flat-pack wardrobe, only bigger. And easier," the Doctor continued with his observations. Yeah, he was right about that. But that wasn't just some random corridor and no deja-vu. Finally they entered a room that looked like a canteen.

"Open Door 17." Where in three devils name were they? Looked almost like a space station or at least a station on a planet that didn't have an Earth-like atmosphere. And what's about this weird storm out there?

"Oh, it's a sanctuary base!" the Doctor announced cheerfully, striding to the middle of the room.

"Close Door 17." She had closed the door behind them.

"Sanctuary Base?" she asked.

"Deep Space exploration. We've gone way out. And listen to that, underneath...," he pointed downwards, indicating for them to listen. Indeed, there was something like...

"Someone's drilling," he said.

"Welcome to hell," Rose said suddenly behind her.

"Yeah, told you we should leave," she said and spun around to Rose.

"Oh, it's not _that_ bad!" the Doctor whined.

Meanwhile, Mira had seen the writing on the wall.

Welcome to hell, followed by letters she had never seen before.

"No, over there!" Rose laughed and pointed at the wall.

"Hold on...," the Doctor said, now also seemingly unsettled, "What does that say?" He walked over to the wall and crouched in front of it. "That's weird. It won't translate."

"Should it?" Mira asked and crouched next to him.

"Yeah, I thought the TARDIS translates everything. We should see English," Rose said.

"Exactly. If that's not working, then it means... this writing is old. Very old. Impossibly old," the Doctor replied as if talking to himself.

"Let's go," Mira urged once more. "Really."

"Nah," the Doctor said, stood up and walked over to another door. "We should find out who's in charge." He turned the wheel to open the door, "We've gone beyond the reach of the TARDIS' knowledge. Not a good move..."

"Now you're finally getting it...," Mira threw in. Then suddenly it hit her, and she was trying to stop him from opening the door, but she was too late. There was someone on the other side.

"Open Door 19."

He and Rose, who was standing next to him, stared in shock at the aliens on the other side of the door. Mira was staring as well. The aliens looked like a crossing between humans and octopuses. But they didn't seem to be hostile... Although it was weird. There were emotions coming from them, but they seemed to be muffled. Dampened.

"Right! Hello! Sorry! Uh... I was just saying, uh... nice base!," the Doctor said with a grin. He had gathered himself rather quickly.

"We must feed," the aliens said all together.

"You're gonna what?" the Doctor asked bewildered.

"Yeah. I think they mean us," Rose said as they backed away.

"No, they don't," Mira said. Well, they were behaving a bit weird, but she still didn't get any hostile emotions from them. On the contrary, they seemed to be rather peacefully. And there was something else... She reached out to the psychic field that was surrounding them and tuned into it, but quickly blocked them out again as white noise filled her brain. Most likely, they were telepaths. But instead of getting a glimpse of their thoughts, they were just emanating this strange white noise. With the hint of a melody in it, but that could have been an illusion.

"Better get away from them!" the Doctor said and took her by the wrist. She shook her arm free.

"They're not hostile!"

"Sure?"

"Yeah."

"We must feed. We must feed," the aliens continued. Right now, another door opened and even more of them appeared, circling them. The Doctor was pointing his Sonic at them, whilst Rose had picked up a chair. Were they completely mad now?

"Hey, put that down!" she yelled at them. "I'm sorry," she addressed the aliens now, "I guess this is some sort of misunderstanding. What exactly do you want?"

"We must feed. We must feed. We must feed."

"Yeah, got that, but..."

"Mira! Get away from them!" the Doctor urged.

 _Oh look. No one's listening. Great feeling, hm?_

The next door opened, and now the room was filled with these aliens. Was it their station? The Doctor and Rose were now backed up against a wall, and also around herself were a group of aliens now. Well, the situation obviously appeared to be a bit tense, but it was in contradiction to what she was still receiving from them.

"We must feed. We must feed. We must feed."

Suddenly one of the aliens was shaking the glowing orb in his right hand.

"You. If you are hungry."

"Sorry?" the Doctor said.

"We apologise. Electromagnetics have interfered with our speech systems," one of them said.

"Speech systems? They're translating your telepathy into speech?" Mira asked.

"That is correct. Would you like some refreshment?" the alien asked and blinked at her twice.

"Uhm, telepaths?" the Doctor asked. "Well, now that you say it...," he scratched his neck. He always did that when he was feeling uncomfortable, she noticed.

"Open Door 18."

Their heads flung around as three people entered the room, two of them holding guns. She instinctively put her hands up, although they didn't seem particularly hostile.

"What the hell...? How did...?" one of the three people said, searching for words as he approached the group. "Captain... you're not going to believe this. We've got PEOPLE. Out of nowhere. I mean, real people. I mean three... living... people. Just standing here, right in front of me," he said into a wrist-comm, a bit like the ones Mira new from her universe.

 _Decent technology, finally._

"Don't be stupid, that's impossible," she could hear through the device.

"I suggest telling THEM that," the man said, staring at them. Well, she couldn't blame him for being a bit overwhelmed by their presence. If that would have happened on one of the ships of the Fleet, she wouldn't have send only three people, but a group of battle-robots and _some_ security-officers. Like ten, at least.

"But you're a sort of space base, you must have visitors now and then. It can't be that impossible," Rose said.

 _Sure, so many we basically bumped into them every other foot._

"You're telling me you don't know where you are?" the man said to her in disbelief.

"No idea. More fun that way," the Doctor grinned at him.

Suddenly, a female voice came over the comm-device, "Stand by, everyone. Buckle down. We have incoming. And it's a big one. Quake Point 5 on its way." Right after that, the whole base started to quake and tremble, and the man rushed over to a door and opened it.

"Through here! Now. Quickly, come on!"

Mira didn't need an extra invitation as a siren sounded. She followed the man, with Rose and the Doctor at her heels, the two security guards after them.

They hurried through a corridor whilst the shaking got even worse. Smoke filled the air and it was hard to keep balance. Finally they reached something that looked like a control room. Not overly huge, but stuffed with consoles.

The welcome there was as enthusiastic as it had been at the canteen. They really weren't expecting any visitors.

"Oh, my GOD. You meant it," another man said, and Mira recognised his voice, he was the one speaking over the comm.

"People! Look at that! Real people!" a young woman fell in, another familiar voice.

"That's us. Hooray!" the Doctor said.

"Yeah, definitely real. My name's Rose... Rose Tyler, and... and this is the Doctor. Oh, and Mira Rhodan," Rose introduced them.

"Come on... the oxygen must be offline. We're hallucinating. They can't be... no. They're real!" Another man, with probably the blackest hair Mira had ever seen, walked over to them.

"Come ON, we're in the middle of an alert! Danny, strap up, the quake's coming in! Impact in thirty seconds!" the over-the-comm man urged. He must be in charge. "Sorry, you three, whoever you are. Just... hold on. Tight."

Mira did as she was told, grabbing a handrail behind her. She new exactly how quickly one could lose the ground beneath one's feet on a space ship or space station.

"Hold on to what?" Rose had to ask, of course.

"Anything. I don't care. Just hold on. Ood, are we fixed?"

Finally, the Doctor and Rose held on to something.

"Your kindness in this emergency is much appreciated," one of the aliens answered.

 _Oods. Never met them before._

"What's this planet called, anyway?" the Doctor wanted to know.

"Now, don't be stupid. It hasn't got a name. How could it have a name?" another woman said.

"Maybe because you named it?" Mira replied.

"You really don't know, do you?"

"And... IMPACT!" the Commander yelled.

Mira had expected quite a lot, but after a second of not-so-much shaking, it seemed to be over. Nevertheless, she continued to hold on to the handrail, not trusting the peace.

"Oh, well, that wasn't so bad...," the Doctor said, and just as he let go of his handrail, the shaking started again, much more violent this time. He flew backwards, directly against herself. She grabbed him instinctively, and the next moment they both went falling to the floor. There was a small explosion at one of the consoles, sparks flew around and the air smelled of smoke. Then, finally, it stopped.

"You can get up now, I guess," she said, poking at his back. "Dammit. For someone as skinny as you you're remarkably heavy. Ow."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" He jumped up, grabbed her hands and lifted her to her feet. "You're alright?"

"Yeah," she rubbed her side as he turned around. Hell, he was really heavy. Not to mention his pointy elbows.

"Everyone all right? Speak to me, Ida?" the Commander wanted to know.

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Danny?"

"Fine."

"Toby?"

"Yeah, fine."

"Scooti?"

"No damage."

"Jefferson?"

"Check!"

"We're fine, thanks, fine, yeah, don't worry about us," the Doctor said.

"The surface caved in," the Commander said after he had looked at one of the screens with a schematic of the station on it. "I deflected it onto storage five through eight. We've lost them completely. Toby, go and check the rocket link."

"That's not my department."

"Just do as I say, yeah?"

Toby finally left the room, with a grim look on his face. Well, discipline was not getting better here, was it?

"Oxygen holding. Internal gravity 56.6. We should be okay," Ida announced.

"Never mind the earthquake, that's... that's one hell of a storm. What is that, a hurricane?" Rose wanted to know as the whole station cracked again.

"You'd need an atmosphere for a hurricane. There's no air out there. It's a complete vacuum," Scooti answered. Well, Mira had thought that much. She couldn't say why, but she had the distinct feeling that they weren't on a planet with an atmosphere.

"Then what's shaking the roof?" Rose asked.

"You're not joking. You really don't know? Well - introductions. FYI, as they said in the olden days. I'm Ida Scott, science officer." She pointed at Zach, "Zachary Cross Flane, acting Captain, sir... you've met Mr Jefferson, he's head of security. Danny Bartock. Ethics committee," she continued, pointing at the different persons.

"Not as boring as it sounds," Danny threw in.

"And that man who just left, that was Toby Zed, archaeology, and this...," she placed her hand on the young woman's shoulder, "... is Scooti Manista. Trainee maintenance." Then, Ida went over to the controls. "And this... this is home." She pulled a lever, a whirring sound started, and massive steel plates on the ceiling moved.

"Brace yourselves. The sight of it sends some people mad," Zach said. But suddenly she knew what was beyond the window that was opening in the ceiling. That was one of the few clear scenes from her dream she remembered. Standing in this room, looking up and... She closed her eyes, daring not to look.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He looked up as the room was flooded in red light as the window above them opened. He would have expected a lot, but not this. Above their heads was a whole in space, sucking in everything, surrounded by a halo of light. "But that's...," he looked over to Mira, who had her eyes closed and her head lowered.

"A black-hole," she said flatly and finally looked up. He looked back and forth between her and the black-hole, shacking his head in disbelief. "That's impossible," he continued, meaning both the fact that they were that close to a black-hole and that Mira obviously had been right. Well, it could still be coincidence.

 _No._

He suddenly knew that this wasn't the case. She really had seen it before they had arrived here.

"But how can we be here if that's a black-hole?" Rose asked, her voice shaking.

"I did warn you," Zach said.

"We're standing under a black hole," he stated the obvious, his mind still refusing to believe it. He looked over to Mira again, who quickly looked up to the black-hole, deliberately avoiding his gaze.

"We're in orbit," Ida said.

"But we can't be..."

"But we are," Mira said so gravely, it almost made him shiver.

"You can see for yourself. We're in orbit," Ida insisted.

"But we _can't_ be!" That went against every law of physics. Nothing should be able to exist here. Well, aside from a TARDIS probably. But not this station. Surely not this station. And how could a human be able to foresee this? Suddenly he was sure she was still hiding something from him. That was not just psychic, neither was it human.

"This lump of rock is suspended in perpetual geostationary orbit around that black hole without falling in. Discuss," Ida interrupted his thoughts.

"And that's bad, yeah?" Rose asked cautiously.

"Actually, being in orbit is quite good. Bad would be getting pulled into this thing," Mira replied and he wasn't sure if she was being cynical or serious.

"It is bad!" he said, "A black hole's a dead star, it collapses in on itself, in and in and in until the matter's so dense and tight it starts to pull everything else in too. Nothing in the universe can escape it. Light, gravity... time... everything just gets pulled inside... and crushed."

"So, they can't be in orbit. We should be pulled right in," Rose summarised his explanation.

"We should be dead," he said.

"Well, we're here and not dead. Yet. Time to accept that," Mira said, all serious now, and walked over to the central console. He watched her. Suddenly he could totally imagine her father leading an Empire for centuries, if she was only a little bit like him. She didn´t seem to have any difficulties to accept the situation.

"You should listen to her," Ida said. "Welcome on board, by the way."

"But if there's no atmosphere out there, what's that?" Rose wanted to know, pointing at the clouds that were drawn into the black-hole.

"Stars breaking up... gas clouds... we have whole solar systems being ripped apart above our heads before falling into that thing," Ida said.

"So, a bit worse than a storm, then."

"Just a bit."

"Just a bit, yeah."

* * *

 _Mira´s POV_

"But how does this work? That's not human technology, is it?" Mira asked, just as the station was shaking again.

"Close Door 1."

Toby came back, saying, "The rocket link's fine."

Zach pressed a button and a hologram of the black-hole appeared. The Doctor came closer, watching it with his glasses on.

"No, not human technology. That's the black hole officially designated K37 Gen 5," Zach explained.

"In the scriptures of the Falltino, this planet is called 'Kroptor'. The bitter pill. And the black hole is supposed to be a mighty demon. It was tricked into devouring the planet, only to spit it out. Because it was poison," Ida said.

"The bitter pill. I like that," Rose said with a grin. Well, at least someone still found it funny, Mira thought.

"We are so far out. Lost in the drifts of the universe - how did you even GET here?!" the Doctor asked.

"We flew in. You see..., " Zach said, pressed another button, causing the hologram to change. Now they could see the planet with a gravity field in the form of a funnel, coming out of the planet. "This planet's generating a gravity field. We don't know how - we've no idea, but... it's kept in constant balance against the black hole. And the field extends out there," he pointed at the hologram, "As a funnel. A distinct... gravity funnel, reaching out into clear space. That was our way in."

"You flew down that thing?" Rose said and grinned, "Like a roller-coaster."

"By rights, the ship should've been torn apart. We lost the Captain... which is what put me in charge... "

"You're doing a good job," Ida threw in.

"Yeah. Well, needs must."

"But if that gravity funnel closes, there's no way out," Danny stated the obvious.

"We had fun speculating about that," Scooti said.

"Oh, yeah. That's the word." Danny hit her lightly with a scroll on the head. "Fun".

"But that would require an incredible amount of energy. Almost an endless amount."

The Doctor nodded, seemingly deep in thought. "Can I...?" he pointed at a calculator.

"Sure. Help yourself," Ida said.

Mira peered over his shoulder as he did some calculations. She couldn't follow half of it – if she would have a positronic, she would have been able to calculate it... In a decent amount of time. Behind her back she could hear Rose talk to Danny about the Ood, something about them being servants – or slaves, as Rose put it. Well, one more thing they had to think about, but right now it was way more important what it was about the black-hole and this strange planet.

"There we go. D'you see? To generate that gravity field, and the funnel, you'd need a power source with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds," the Doctor said as he was finished after a few minutes.

"That's a lot of sixes," Rose said.

"So what? As good as any other number," Mira murmured.

"And it's impossible," the Doctor said.

 _Here we go again._

He was talking an awful lot about _impossible_ , for someone having a time-machine.

"It took us two years to work that out!" Zach exclaimed.

"I'm very good," the Doctor said.

"But... that's why we're here. This power source is ten miles below through solid rock. Point Zero. We're drilling down to try and find it," Ida obviously couldn't quite believe that he had worked it out that fast.

"It's giving off readings of over ninety stats on the Blazen Scale," Zach said.

"We could revolutionize modern science," Ida said.

"We could use it to fuel the Empire," Jefferson, the security guy, said. Well, not really a surprise that it came from someone like him.

"Or start a war," the Doctor spoke out what she was thinking, taking his glasses off.

"It's buried beneath us. In the darkness, waiting." That was Toby, who had been silent until now.

"What's your job? Chief... dramatist?" Rose said to him, making the Doctor smirk.

"Well, whatever it is down there is not a natural phenomena. And this, er, planet once supported life. Eons ago, before the human race had even learned to walk," Toby answered, not reacting to her provocation.

"I saw that lettering written on the wall. Did _you_ do that?" the Doctor asked.

"I copied it from fragments we found on earth by the drilling, but I can't translate it."

"No, neither can I. And that's saying something."

"There was some form of civilisation. They buried something. Now it's reaching out. Calling us in."

"And you came," the Doctor said, grinning widely.

"Well, how could we not?" Ida said.

Now Mira was also smiling. Seemed that humanity here wasn't that different from her own universe.

"So, when it comes right down to it, why did you come here? Why did you do that? Why? I'll tell you why. Because it was _there_. Brilliant. Excuse me, ah, Zach, wasn't it?" the Doctor addressed Zach.

"That's me."

"Just stand there, 'cos I'm gonna hug you. Is that all right?"

"I s'pose so," Zach said cautiously.

"Here we go. Coming in." He walked over to Zach, threw his arms around him and hugged him, still beaming. "Ahh, human beings, you are amazing!"

"Thank you," Zach said as the Doctor led go of him.

"But apart from that, you're completely mad. You should pack your bags and get back in that ship and fly for your lives," the Doctor said.

"Well, now listen to that," Mira murmured, glancing at the Doctor, causing him to frown.

"You can talk! And how the hell did YOU get here?" Ida asked.

"Oh, I've got this um... this... it's hard to explain, it just sort of... appears."

"Yeah, small, wooden, blue box. Just materialised right in your station," Mira said."In habitation area... three?"

"Yeah, Three," the Doctor confirmed.

"Do you mean storage six?" Zach said, and immediately she could feel that something was wrong. He was alarmed, yet it wasn't clearly showing on his face.

"Uh, it was a bit of a cupboard, yeah," the Doctor said cheerfully.

Storage six? Not good. "Oh shit," she said quietly.

"Storage six, but you said..." Now it was dawning on the Doctor as well. "You said... you said storage five to eight."

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

Rose watched in shock as the Doctor turned on his heel and ran out of the room without another word. Mira was right behind him, and after a second, she ran after them as well.

"What is it? What's wrong?" she shouted after them as they were running through the corridors, right back where they came from, through the canteen and on, the voice of the computer announcing whenever he opened a door. He didn't answer her, so finally Mira did. "It's the area that caved in!"

They reached the last door to the storage room eventually, and the Doctor tried to open it, frantically pushing the button on it, but to no avail.

"Door 16 out of commission."

"Can't be, can't be!" he yelled.

"What's wrong?! What is it?" she asked in desperation as the Doctor opened a small window in the door.

"Doctor, the TARDIS is in there. What's happened?" she tried it again.

"The TARDIS is gone," he said, staring out of the window.

"What?" She watched him as he backed away from the door, a horrified expression on his face, breathing heavily.

"The earthquake. This section collapsed," he said, seemingly unable to believe it.

"But it's gotta be out there somewhere," she said. That couldn't be. The TARDIS couldn't be gone. That would mean... She peered out of the window herself. The storage room was gone as if it had never been there. Now there was only the rocky surface of the planet.

"You knew it!" she heard the Doctor yell behind her and turned around. He had grabbed Mira by her upper arm and stared at her with so much anger in his eyes that it even frightened her, although she clearly wasn't the target of it.

"You knew it and you didn't tell me!"

 _Oh oh. The oncoming storm..._

That could get interesting. She turned her head away from him, looking at Mira. The other woman didn't seem to be afraid, she realised with astonishment. She just looked from his hand to his face and said quietly, in contrast to him yelling, "Take your hand off me."

Well, he might be the oncoming storm, but she clearly was the calm before it. Rose shuddered. She wasn´t sure what she would have preferred right now.

"Who are you? You saw it coming, didn't you? How could you?" he yelled, still holding her arm in a painfully tight grip, pulling her closer as she tried to back off.

"I told you to take your hand off me. Now," she repeated, still not raising her voice.

"Or what?"

"Live with the consequences." She didn´t explain those consequences further, and Rose couldn´t imagine that she would be able to free herself from his grip. On the other hand she didn´t believe that she had meant consequences involving physical violence.

He stared at her for another moment out of hateful eyes, but then finally let go of her. Despite of the seriousness of the situation, Rose couldn't help herself but to feel satisfaction. Seemed as if the problem with Mira was just working out on its own.

"Now tell me!" the Doctor demanded.

"I didn't know that this would happen. As I told you before, I don't see what exactly will happen. But I told you to leave. Repeatedly. You didn't care."

"Give me one good reason to believe you."

Rose could see how he tried to hold himself back to not grab her again. She was really scared by now. She had seen him angry before, but not on the edge of actually being physically violent. He wouldn't harm her, would he? "Doctor... She... She really said we should leave." She couldn't just stand by and watch. No matter how much she hated the other woman, right now she was afraid that the situation would really escalate.

"Yeah, she did. But that doesn't mean she didn't know what would happen." He turned to Mira again. "I want to know who you are! How could you know any of this? You have been here before, haven't you?"

"Alright, now it's getting ridiculous. I can understand that you're upset and..."

"Upset?" he was yelling. "Upset? Oh, I'm beyond upset! And it's all your f.."

"My fault? Fine, blame it on me if it helps. But I'm telling the truth. I didn't know that this would happen to her."

"And I should trust you why?"

Mira looked at him as if considering what to say. "You know what? If you really don't have an inch of trust in me, look in my mind. I don't think I could keep anything from you," she finally said.

He stared at her for a few more seconds, then Rose could see how his face fell. Suddenly all anger was gone and he just looked tired. Tired, desperate and sad.

"No, it's... I... No. I won't do that."

"Let's get back to the control room," Mira said. "See if they can do something." She turned around and walked away. As the Doctor followed her, Rose took his hand. "We'll find her," she tried to comfort him. She looked up and searched for his eyes, but even though he let her take his hand, he didn't look at her. He just stared into space as they followed Mira.

* * *

 _Heroherondaletotheresuce, Wicken25, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, Lucifae, AxidentlGoddes and bored411: Thanks for your reviews :-)_


	29. Chapter 29 - The Impossible Planet Pt 2

**Chapter XXIX**

 _Mira's POV_

As soon as Mira had reached the control room, the Doctor went at Zach.

"The ground gave way. My TARDIS must've fallen down right into the heart of the planet. But you've got robot drills heading the same way," he said with urgency.

"We can't divert the drilling," Zach answered, sounding rather finally.

"But I NEED my ship. It's all I've got. Literally the only thing," the Doctor said, and she could hear the desperation in his voice. Despite his former outburst – what she wasn't sure what to make of yet – it make her heart cramp.

Zach shot him a slightly irritated look. "Doctor, We've only got the resources to drill _one_ central shaft down to the power source, and that's it. No diversions, no distractions - _no exceptions_. Your machine is lost. All I can do is offer you a lift if we ever get to leave this place, and that... is the end of it." Then he left. The Doctor stared after him, his whole posture an expression of helplessness.

"I'll uh - put you on the duty roster. We need someone in the laundry," Ida said to him before leaving the room as well. Well, keep them busy. A thing she would have done herself in Ida's stead. But laundry? Really? She would certainly not do laundry but keep in check with Scooti to learn more about this base.

"Close Door 1."

Now the tree of them were alone in the control room. She looked at the Doctor from the side. Did he frighten her earlier on? He had been scary, but she had been in too many situations like that to feel scared by it. Of course, she had felt the rush of adrenalin in her veins as he had grabbed her, but that had been only a basic fight-or-flight reaction. No, she hadn't been as frightened as she would have been at a younger age. Somehow his former behaviour was even understandable. It had been the loss of his ship that had send him on edge, and well, she had happened to be in the line of fire. At least that was what she was trying to convince herself of. But she couldn't be too sure in this case. Was he really just acting out of the moment? Or did it just make him speak out what he was thinking all along? And even though she had tried to net let it get close to her, it had hit her. She had thought they'd gone beyond the whole 'Who are you'-thing by now. But obviously she had been wrong. At least he hadn't accepted her offer to see for himself if he could trust her. Well, she would have allowed it, if only to end this silly fight. But that would have been it. After that there would have been no turning around from her side. That would have set their relationship to a purely professional level once and for all. She could never ever be his friend if he would have proven his distrust in that way. However, she couldn't imagine what had made him back off in the end. Maybe he was realising what was going on or there had been a hint of clear thinking left in him.

So, next thing was to get the TARDIS back. She obviously was still on this planet somewhere. Not drifting through space and not pulled into the black-hole. So it might be difficult, especially without the drill, but not impossible.

"I've trapped you here," she heard the Doctor say, pulling her out of her thoughts. Although he might have meant them both, he had turned his head to Rose. Well, that was fine with her, right now she felt incapable of talking to him without making everything even worse. At least as long as it went beyond the absolute necessary.

"No. Don't worry about me," Rose said, but she could hear in her voice that she was lying.

Right now, the base started to shake again, making the structure creak. Mira looked up through the still open window at the black-hole. It wasn't the first time she was close to something like that, but back then they had been flying right through it. With the help of a species who could calculate the mathematics for the course in their heads. It had been a way to another universe, a pocket universe embedded in their own. Somehow she had the feeling that this particular black-hole didn't lead anywhere.

"Okay, we're on a planet that shouldn't exist, under a black hole... and no way out," Rose continued, "Yeah, I've changed my mind. Start worrying about me."

The last thing she saw as she was leaving the room, was the Doctor hugging Rose. Well, Rose definitely needed it by now, and she herself would examine the base and stay away from the Doctor until both of them had calmed down a bit.

The rest of the day she spent mostly with Scooti, lending her a hand with the repairs that seemed to never end on a base that size. They were talking a lot, about the base, the technology here, and the research they had done. Scooti was a fascinating young woman, and, although around Rose's age, completely different. Much more mature and much less bitchy. Scooti had a sparkling personality, an urge to travel to the stars, to go beyond the beaten tracks.

She even had a talk with Danny about the Ood. Danny, although a really nice guy, had a strange opinion on them, one she couldn't share. He told her they were born to serve. Bullshit. Bred to serve maybe, but no matter how much she was discussing it with him, he didn't seem to get her point. Well, she could tell that he had the same feeling when it came to her.

At least she succeeded in avoiding the Doctor. Even when she and Scooti went to the canteen to eat something, she didn't meet him. And despite all the distraction, her feelings about their fight didn't get better. She had hoped that she would see it in a less serious way the more time passed by, but on the contrary, it got even worse. By now she felt even more hurt. Maybe he had uttered it only because he was in shock about what had happened. But that didn't change that he most likely had meant it. It was almost driving her mad that she didn't know what his feelings had been. Slowly she came to realise how it must be for normal people and why they were acting so incomprehensibly long-winded and irrational in situations like that. Well, she knew it of course, without sensing the emotions of one another things naturally were difficult and long-winded, but _now_ she was fully getting it.

Above all, it was hurting her pride that she had been so wrong about him. She really didn't have any instincts when it came to others as soon as she couldn't rely on her empathy. She really hadn't believed he would be able to throw things at her like that. Not after what they had told each other back in the sixties, not after the hours at the observatory. He might not believe her when it came to her being able to see the future, but that he would insinuate that she would deliberately keep things from him was something she had not even considered. Besides, she _had_ tried to warn him.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He spent the rest of the day with Rose. They had been shown a room with three bunk beds, which wasn't occupied by now. The crew at the base really seemed to assume that they would stay. Whilst they were walking through the station, he was trying to talk to the Ood – who were indeed some sort of telepaths, how could he have missed that? - and was talking to Rose about banalities, but all he could think about was the fight he had had with Mira.

By now he didn't know what had gotten into him. Well, to be honest, he did know it. It had been the lost of his ship, his home, his oldest and closest companion, that had made him lose control. And yes, even though he hated to admit it, he had meant what he had said to her. At least at that moment. Didn't justify the way he had said it, nor grabbing her arm like that. The further the day went, the worse he was feeling about all this. True, he couldn't explain her abilities. True, he didn't know if she had been aware of what was happening or not. But a feeling in his guts told him that she hadn't been, at least not of what had happened to the TARDIS. She would have told him, and besides, she really had tried to warn him, said that they should leave. It was all his fault because he hadn't listened.

And even if she was not who she seemed to be, it was non of his business. Either she would tell him when she saw fit, or she herself had no idea about what was going on. Or he was just wrong himself. Maybe there really wasn't more to her than she had already told him. Nice conclusion, he thought, but probably a bit late.

No matter how he looked at it, he had been a complete moron. A choleric, angry idiot. And then there was the offer she had made, which clearly was a two edged sword. At least he had still been clear enough in his head to not take it. Most likely it had been a last act in despair from her side, to prove her point. To be honest, that had been the moment when he had started to regret what he had said. And even before that, how she had remained that calm, had slowly taken the wind out of his sails. He had to fix it somehow, although he didn't know if it wasn't too late for that.

And now it seemed as if she was avoiding him. And he couldn't blame her for that.

Later in the evening, as Rose had went to bed, he was sitting all alone in the canteen, quarrelling about all the mess, as Mira went in. She was about to turn around as she saw him, making him flinch. He had hoped that maybe she wouldn't take it that hard. But well, that would have been too easy.

"Mira, wait. Please!"

After a moment of hesitation she turned around and sat down opposite to him. She looked at him, and although she tried to keep a neutral expression in her face, he could see in her eyes how much he had hurt her.

"Mira, I'm so, so sorry. I... I shouldn't have said that. And I surely shouldn't have grabbed you like that. If only I could take it back, I would, but... I can't. Honestly, I'm so sorry." There was not much more he could do but to apologise to her and to hope she would accept it.

She remained silent for a moment as if thinking about it, then said quietly, "Actually, I think it's quite good that you said it. You know what, I can totally take it when someone is stressed, upset or whatever, and takes it out on me. Yells at me, even insults me. Up to a certain degree, that's fine. I can understand that, and yes, even I've done that from time to time. But that was not just yelling at me out of the moment. You were really believing it, weren't you? Even if you wouldn't have thrown it at me, that's what you were thinking."

Oh well, she had put it quite straight and shattered all his hope that there might be an easy way out for him. He closed his eyes for a moment and shoved a hand through his hair as he fully realised what he probably had done. He really would like to fix it somehow, but right now he doubted if that would be possible. He knew by now how much she valued honesty. And she had been honest to him, as much as she could. She had warned him, she had told him about her dreams, despite he hadn't believed her.

"Look, I...," he started, but she interrupted him.

"Do you really believe I would deceive you at the first opportunity? That I knew what would happen to her and just let it happen? After all I've said since we know each other? After all this time, you still think I would do something like that? After all your talk of trust and whatnot? Did you lie to me all the time? What was this all about? Were you just testing me?"

"What?" he now was genuinely shocked. But as he thought about it, he saw that that was probably the only conclusion she could draw from this. Unintentionally, he had really hit her hard. But she was wrong, at least in parts. He hadn't thought like that all the time. And surely he wasn't testing her. Maybe that was why he had acted like that. He had trusted her that far, and then this had happened, and he had lost it. Out of his anger and shock he had messed it up has bad as he could. His look wandered up, to the black-hole above their heads, but he forced his eyes back on her. Now he could see the pain written all over her face. Pain that was there because of him.

"I...," before he knew what he was doing he tried to take her hands that were lying on the table, but she pulled them away. He put his own hands off the table again. "No, I wasn't thinking that all the time. You have to believe me. I... I weren't thinking that, and probably that's why I've gotten that angry. That, and the TARDIS, and that... that I didn't listen to you. You tried to warn me, but... I was so, so stupid. And that I didn't believe you in the first place as you told me about your dreams. And now here we are, with this black-hole. I... I just didn't know what to think anymore. So I accused you of things that were completely baseless, but now that I have thought about it, I see that..."

" _Now_ that you thought about it? Well, at least. Doesn't change the fact that you assumed it in the first place. When did you start to think about it? As I offered that you could look into my mind?"

He winced at her words. He hadn't thought that this would be easy. Not with her. He had already noticed that after the space-ship with the clockwork droids. It wasn't even that she was twisting his words, but she had a habit of listening to every single one of them and inquiring until she had nailed him, forcing him to think about the things that had happened in ways he would never have on his own.

"Well, I... Why did you offer that at all?" Most likely not out of trust, he thought. Truly, it _could_ be the ultimate way of proving your trust in someone, to show yourself to him like that, but in this case it would have been the complete opposite.

"Why? Because I wanted to end this stupid fight. That would have been the fastest way to prove that I'm not deceiving you. Wouldn't have been the first time I allowed someone to to that. But that was mostly out of necessity, surely not out of trust. But why didn't you take this offer if you were so sure that I was lying?"

"Because... Because I trust you. I know that now, and I knew it before. I just wasn't thinking at that moment."

"Not maybe because to merely offer something like that would be as good as seeing it for yourself? I guess we both know that I couldn't keep anything from you if you're really aiming for it."

He took a deep breath and looked at her. She was right. And he also believed that she had enough experience with telepathy to really be aware of his abilities.

Maybe there was a way to at least not make it any worse, if not to fix it. He certainly had a habit of lying, or well, bending the truth, but now he decided to go for complete honesty for once.

"Mira, I can only repeat myself: I am really sorry. I can't undo what I've said, but only ask you to forgive me. I really have thought about it. I still think that there is more to you being able to see the future, maybe even more than you yourself know. But whatever is the case, I will trust you with it. Maybe there is still something you don't tell me, and maybe you have good reasons for doing so, or maybe there isn't anything at all. No matter what, it was wrong to use it against you as I did."

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira was thinking about what he had just said. From a strictly rational point of view, she could understand him now. What was going on in his head, why he had acted like that. Well, if he was telling the truth. Right now there was no way for her to tell that. And that was the other, more subjective and emotional point of view. Suddenly she realised how dysfunctional she was with her empathy not working. She actually had been in situations were her empathy didn't work on people before that. Back in her universe, there was a whole species who could disable any psychic ability, but the contact with them had been on a different level. Not that personal, and surely it hadn't been about trust. On the rare occasions she had met someone like that, it had always been safe to resort to distrust.

She really had been willing to try to trust him, she recognised, although she couldn't say why. Even without knowing what he was feeling. Despite the fact that she had always doubted that she would ever learn how to trust someone without knowing if they were lying to her face or not. Empathy had always seemed to her like cheating, but on the other hand, she couldn't just switch it off. Not as she could close her eyes or cover her ears. Plus, she had always been in for honesty, at least with people she cared about and let close to her. There was probably only one other thing that could be used to hurt her like she was feeling right now. Making decisions for her over her head, as her father had done it in the beginning. He had not only kept things from her, but was also thinking that he could decide what's better for her. It had taken them quite a while to work it out back then. In the end they had come to know and understand each other and over time a deep understanding and trust had grown between them. Well, it wasn't that bad right now, with the Doctor only speaking out what he probably was thinking all the time, that he basically didn't trust her. He had just made her aware of the fact that she had put her trust too lightly into someone. And that it wasn't that wrong to resort to distrust whenever she didn't know for sure.

"Mira, please, say something," she heard him say. She must have observed him for quite while now without speaking. What could she say? She wanted to believe him, she really did. And yet she felt she couldn't. Not that easily at least. Hell, there was one way she could be sure, they both could be sure what was going on in the other's head. She instantly discarded that thought, as quick as it had come. Other humans couldn't do that either, so she had to trust for once in her instincts. But, as a matter of fact, she wasn't like other humans, and surely neither was he. His people had been telepaths, and probably he was relying on this extra sense as much as she did. Maybe he was just as insecure and blind in this matter as she was feeling right now. She had actually not thought about it like that until now. Suddenly she remembered what Sarah Jane had told her about the Doctor. How she had believed in him, even after he had left her behind. Well, Mira hadn't expected him to be perfect and without flaws, and he had inspired such loyalty in at least some of his companions, maybe he really deserved another chance. If she could only do that in spite of herself...

"I... I see your point," she finally said cautiously. "And I think I can understand it."

Only if you're telling the truth right now, a nasty voice echoed through her head. She glanced at him. He really looked miserable and seemed to deeply and honestly regret it, at least as far as she could tell.

"But I'm not sure if I can forgive you. I'm not even sure if it's about forgiveness or trust right now. I will try it, but I can't promise you anything. Maybe I can even forgive it some time. But forget? I don't know. Just one thing: Don't _ever_ do that again."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

That was probably as much as he could ask for. At least she seemed to consider to forgive him. The more they were talking about it, the more surreal it seemed to him. What was he thinking? Not much, that was obvious. But the sorrow for the TARDIS had driven him mad. It was still driving him mad, plus that he had trapped them all here.

"I promise," he said quietly and looked at her intently. "I've trapped you here," he continued after a moment. "You and Rose. I promised her mother to bring her back."

"Trapped? The TARDIS is not destroyed, is she? I thought she survived the fall?" Mira asked alarmed.

"Oh she did. But you heard it, we can't use the drill. So I guess we have to stay here until they go and give us a ride in their rocket." He still hadn't grasped the implications of it completely. The TARDIS was out of his reach, and although she was still alive, she would die down there without him. He felt totally lost without her.

"So that's it? You're giving up?"

He looked back at her and saw the disbelief in her face. "Have you taken a look? She's fallen all the way down. There is now way to get to her," he said.

She was just shaking her head and looking up to the black-hole.

"What?" he asked after a moment.

"What? She's still on this planet. She's not destroyed. We even now approximately where she is. And you've already given up?"

"So what do you suggest? Jump down there with a shovel? It really goes far down. You should take a look."

"I did, actually. I went outside with Scooti. You can't even see the ground. She's most likely buried beneath a lot of rocks."

"You went outside? They have space-suits?"

"No. We hold our breath," she said dryly and looked at him, one brow raised. "Of course they do. Rather primitive ones, unfortunately. No aggregates for flying or something like that. Not even that much oxygen."

"She's really gone, isn't she?" he looked at her, desperately wanting her to say that she had found a way. But at the same time he knew that couldn't be. There was none.

"Nah. As long as she's on this planet, we'll get her back."

"Mira, I really appreciate what you're trying, but we both know that..."

"Oh come on! She's not floating through space in another galaxy, neither has she been pulled into that black-hole. I don't say it'll be easy. And I'm not even saying that Rose will live to see it, but we'll find a way. Actually, it's Rose I'm worrying about the most right now. It might take some time. More than she might have." She looked at him as if thinking about something. "Say, how much time do you have left?"

"What? Well... That's a bit... difficult, actually," he stuttered and scratched his neck.

"Roughly would do. Hundred years? Thousand?"

"Well, I certainly hope the latter."

 _If we can get her back._

Otherwise... What would he do with the rest of his life? Without his ship, being forced to stay in this time, traped on the 'slow path' as Reinette had put it.

"Oh, really? Well, as said, it might take some time. But we're far from running out of options. We can wait until they finished the drilling. Maybe we can use it then. Or they find something down there. Or they take us with them, and we come back with some decent equipment. It might take us ten, fifty or hundred years, as long as this planet is still there, we'll make it." She looked at him with so much determination that he couldn't do anything else but believing her. It was a determination he had hardly ever seen in the face and the eyes of a human, and suddenly he could very well imagine why these Entities she was talking about early had chosen her. He was certain she could do incredible things – but it could also be horribly devastating if she used that determination for the wrong causes. Unfortunately, most of the times one could only see afterwards if it had been right or wrong. If one could see it at all.

"Hundred years? That's what I call planning ahead," he said and tried a smile.

"Depends. We've... misplaced Earth once. Took as over forty years to find the way back to our galaxy. And then another four or five until Earth was back in the Solar System."

"You've misplaced your own homeworld?"

"Yeah. Long story. Would have been a good plan, sending it through a gigantic transmitter to protect it. But something interfered with it, so it came out somewhere else. With us and its whole population. Anyway. I'm in for long plans, that was what I wanted to say. As long as this planet exists, we'll get her back. I promise."

The look in her eyes reminded him of the moment when he had told her about his people, where she had taken his hands, making him feel even more miserable about their fight, if that was possible at all. And there was that same strength in it he had felt as their minds had touched for that short moment, as Mickey had interrupted them so suddenly. "You really would do that? I mean, help me like that? Even if it would take that long? After what I've done to you?"

"Well, not that I've got anything else to do," she smirked and then got serious again. "Besides, I've talked to Sarah, you know? She really trusts you. She had spoken quite highly of you."

Oh well. He had actually overheard this conversation. Completely unintended, of course.

"I've been a different man when I was travelling with her," he said quietly. "It's been a long time ago."

"Maybe that's so. But despite how much we change over time, I believe there's always a part that remains. Time shapes you, and whatever you left behind will catch up with you one day, most likely when you're not expecting it at all. May it be good or bad." She looked up to the black-hole once more. "Maybe we should close the roof. It may not drive you mad, but it makes all sentimental." She frowned. "Anyway. Yes, I'll help you. Besides, we can't just leave her behind."

A moment ago he had felt completely desperate, and now she had somehow managed to give him a little hope. It was somehow new to him. Otherwise it was always him giving his companions hope. He couldn't help but think that he really didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve _her_ , even more so after what he had said to her. He would made up for it, somehow. He just had to.

* * *

 _Strotti, d0ct0rwh0l0ckf4n, Wicken25, bored411, Ingridie, AxidentlGoddess, Lucifae and 10th Squad 3rd Seat: Thanks for your reviews :-)_

 _And again, thanks to everyone who´s followed, liked and read it so far :D_

 _Not really that much happening in this chapter (besides talking), I hope it's interesting nevertheless. There won't be a new chapter at the weekend, because I'm at a Star Trek LARP :-) So I wanted to post at least how they talk things out a bit before the weekend._


	30. Chapter 30 - The Impossible Planet Pt 3

_A/N: Thanks at Lucifae for beta-reading this chapter. :-)_

* * *

 **Chapter XXX**

 _Mira's POV_

The next morning, they were all sitting in the canteen. Mira had slept for a few hours, not because she had been overly tired, but because there had been time. She'd had a weird dream about Toby; he'd had black writing all over his skin, just like the etchings on the wall, and he had watched her out of red eyes, saying something she couldn't understand. She wasn't thinking that the dream meant anything. It was most likely just her brain processing the things she had seen throughout the day.

Suddenly the lights flickered, and Ida asked over her wrist-comm, "Zach – have we got a problem?"

"No more than usual. Got the Scarlet System burning up; it might be worth a look."

Mira looked at the Doctor and Rose whilst Ida said, "You might wanna see this. Moment in history."

She pulled a lever and the roof opened once more. "There. On the edge," she pointed up.

Indeed, Mira could see it. A red stream of light was being pulled into the black hole in an almost elegant curve. It was a great sight – somehow sad, but, nevertheless, it was awe-inspiring, especially knowing what forces were at work in that moment. A whole system, including its sun, was being pulled into an all-consuming dead star. Well, it wasn't really pulled anywhere. It was just compressed, becoming a part of an incredibly dense mass.

"That red cloud…that used to be the Scarlet System. Home to the Peluchi…a mighty civilisation spanning a billion years…disappearing. Forever. Their planets and suns consumed," Ida explained.

Mira wondered what had become of this civilization. Surely they had seen it coming; that wasn't something that happened over-night. Did they escape? On the other hand, a civilization that spanned a billion years might have gotten tired. She knew how that could be. They grew tired, degenerated, and even if they'd seen it coming, they might not have found the initiative to do something. She had seen many of remains of old civilizations. Sometimes, they couldn't even say how the people had died. They had just vanished. Making room for new things, like everything else in the universe. Everything was changing around her, she thought. Only she herself didn't. Every time she looked in the mirror, she saw the same face she had for almost sixteen hundred years now. Had she really not changed? Of course, she had seen a lot, and it had had its effects on her, or at least on her soul, but how could she really change if her body was just staying the same? Suddenly, the words the Doctor had said crossed her mind again. Frozen in time. That's what she was. Would she still be there the day humanity finally vanished in her universe?

"Um, could you leave it open?" the Doctor asked and pulled her out of her thoughts. Ida had reached for the lever again. "Just for a bit. I won't go mad, I promise."

"How would you know?" Ida asked. The Doctor didn't answer, just smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Scooti, check the lock down," Ida said, and then to Jefferson, "Jefferson, sign off the airlock seals for me."

"Open Door 18."

"Close Door 18."

Now, the three of them were alone. Mira looked at Rose. The girl was holding herself together quite well, although Mira doubted that she had fully realized what had happened by now.

"I've seen films and things, yeah – they say black holes are like gateways to another universe," Rose said, obviously talking to the Doctor. Well, it seemed she was back to ignoring her.

"Not that one. It just eats," the Doctor confirmed her suspicion from earlier.

"Long way from home…"

"Go that way, turn right, keep going for um…about five hundred years…then you'll reach the Earth."

Five hundred years... If he meant light-years, then they weren't that far from home – if they would have had a space ship. Without one, even one light-year was an eternity.

Rose took her phone out and pressed a few buttons. "No signal. That's the first time we've gone out of range. Mind you, even if I could…what would I tell her…? Can you build another TARDIS?" She laughed nervously at her own suggestion.

"They were grown, not built. And with my own planet gone…we're kind of stuck," the Doctor answered.

 _Welcome to my world._

Of course, she didn't say that aloud.

"Well, it could be worse. This lot said they'd give us a lift," Rose said, trying to sound casually.

"And then what?" Mira couldn't hold her tongue any longer. Besides, she was curious what Rose's plan might be.

"I dunno…find a planet…get a job…live a life, same as the rest of the universe.

Oh hell. She surely wouldn't settle down on a planet. And somehow she couldn't believe that the Doctor would either. She didn't know what he had been doing before his homeworld was destroyed, but she couldn't imagine him just living on some planet. No, in that way, he seemed to be like her. Planets were nice, especially if they were one's homeworld, but she couldn't even stay on Earth for too long.

"Pfft... I'd have to settle down. In a house or something, a proper house with…with…with…with DOORS and things. Carpets! Me! Living in a house!"

Rose only laughed at his indignant tone.

"Now that…that is terrifying."

It was terrifying, indeed.

"You'd have to get a mortgage," Rose went on teasing him.

"No!"

"Oh yes."

"I am dying. That's it. I am dying, it is all over." It was supposed to sound funny, but Mira noticed how serious it really was to him. She couldn't imagine it either. Being forced to live on a planet for the rest of her live? Looking up at the stars every night, knowing exactly she would never be able to go there again? After all she had seen, all the places she had been? No. Not an option.

"What about me? I'd have to get one too. I dunno, could…could be the same one, we could both…" Rose trailed, "I dunno…share. Or not, you know. Whatever."

Mira looked at the Doctor and saw the awkward expression on his face. He was clearly feeling uncomfortable, and she couldn't blame him for that. The whole situation had become awkward from one moment to the next.

"I dunno, we'll sort something out…" Rose hurried to say. She had noticed it too. Poor girl. Wait. Hadn't he said that he had talked to her? Well, at least not about this particular topic.

"Anyway," the Doctor said, rubbing the back of his neck and shooting a quick glance to Mira with that look in his eyes.

"We'll see!" Rose tried to say lightly.

"I promised Jackie I'd always take you back home," the Doctor said after a few moments of silence.

"Everyone leaves home in the end," Rose replied.

"Yeah, but not to be stuck in the future without your mother knowing what had happened to you," Mira said before she could help herself and regretted it almost instantly. No need to remind Rose of how severe the situation was. She would realize it soon enough on her own. She braced herself for Rose's answer, because the girl was clearly thinking about something appropriate to say, as she heard a voice echoing in her head.

 _ **He is awake.**_

She winced and turned her head to the Doctor. He looked at her equally surprised.

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

"Yeah. He is awake."

"What?" Rose asked.

"Didn't you hear it?" he asked the girl.

"No, what?"

"It was in our heads," Mira explained. "Some sort of telepathic transmission."

"Was it?" the Doctor asked, looking around him. "But who..."

"The Ood!" they said simultaneously, staring at each other.

"What's with them?" Rose wanted to know.

"They're telepathic. And I think we should check on them," the Doctor answered her.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

A few minutes later, they reached Ood Habitation, finding Danny there, and most of the Oods standing in their places downstairs.

"Evening." the Doctor said to him, followed by, "Only us!" from Rose.

"The mysterious trio. How are you, then? Settling in?" he said, looking up from his work on a computer terminal.

"Yeah, sorry, straight to business, the Ood - how do they communicate? I mean, with each other," the Doctor said to him, after taking a look at the Ood. He was now clearly feeling that they were psychic, but he couldn't say if they were talking to each other or what they were saying. He looked over to Mira, who observed the aliens herself. Did she understand something?

"Oh, just empaths. There's a low level telepathic field connecting them. Not that that does them much good. They're basically a herd race. Like cattle," Danny answered, making the Doctor frown. He didn't like how Danny was talking about the Ood, and he couldn't imagine that it was true what they were saying about them. A species born to serve? Not really.

"This telepathic field - can it pick up messages?" he asked Danny.

"'Cos I was having dinner, and one of the Ood said something... well, odd," Rose threw in. She had told him about it, but he hadn't known what to make out of it.

"Oh. An odd Ood," Danny replied, obviously not taking the whole situation very seriously.

"And we... heard another message," Mira added, not being specific about how they had heard it. She was really cautious about this topic from time to time, he noticed.

"Oh, be fair. We've got whole star systems burning up around us. There are all sorts of stray transmissions. Probably nothing," Danny replied casually. The Doctor only shook his head, being far from convinced. Stray transmissions? Maybe there were some there, but not telepathic ones. Just as he wanted to clarify what sort of message it had been, Danny continued, "Look…if there was something wrong, it would show. We monitor the telepathic field. It's the only way to look after them. They're so stupid, they don't even tell us when they're ill."

"Monitor the field - that's this thing?" he said, pointing at a small screen with a five on it.

"Yeah. But like I said, it's low-level telepathy. They only register Basic five," Danny answered, not looking at the console that was now reading a six.

"Well, that's not Basic five," the Doctor pointed it out, looking at the scale that was still rising.

"Ten..." Now Rose was standing next to him, looking at the screen as well.

"Doctor!" he heard Mira from behind him, an alarmed tone in her voice. The scale had gone up to a thirty by now.

"They've gone up to a basic thirty," he informed Danny, before addressing Mira, "What?"

"The Ood, they..."

"But that can't be," Danny said in disbelief.

He turned around and saw how the Ood turned to them as one, looking up at the balcony.

"What does basic thirty mean," Rose asked.

"Well, it means that they're shouting - screaming inside their heads," Danny said baffled.

"More likely something's shouting at them," Mira said, and as he turned his head he could see that she was standing with eyes closed, her face a mask of concentration.

"What? What's shouting at them?" he wanted to know and walked over to her.

"I don't know. Would be a bit easier if they would stop making such a noise," she said, opened her eyes and looked at the Ood.

"Who should shout at them?" Danny wanted to know as well. "What messages did you get?"

"Something about the beast in the pit," Rose answered.

"He is awake," Mira told him, and just as she had finished, the Ood said all as one, "And you will worship him."

They all looked at the Ood.

"What the hell?" was all Danny could manage to say.

"He is awake," the Doctor repeated now, his hands on the rail, looking down to the Ood.

"And you will worship him," they repeated.

"Worship who?" No reply. "Who's talking to you? Who is it?" But the Ood remained silent now.

"Mira?"

"There is definitely something, but I've no idea what, or where. And I don't know what it's saying. It's almost as if it's deliberately hiding its thoughts from us."

"Oh wait, what? You're not saying you can understand the Ood? I mean, telepathically? Have you looked at the black-hole for too long?" Danny asked, completely dumbfounded now.

"Well, as she had just said, no, we're not understanding them, she's just hearing them," the Doctor answered as he watched how Mira covered her ears in a futile attempt to block out the 'noise' of the Oods.

"Sorry," she said after a few more moments, putting her hands down again. "I can't make anything out of it. It's just, the telepathic field of the Ood has gotten really strong now, and there's something else, something that definitely isn't an Ood."

"Well, I have a feeling we'll find it out sooner or later. You're fine?" he asked her and laid his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, why shouldn't I be?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about the Cybermen. Had been a bit more of them, but..."

"What? Oh, no. The emotions of the Oods are no problem. It's their weird telepathic or empathic ability, and I'm able to block that out."

Suddenly, as he was about to answer, the whole base started to shake. Different this time, not like the shaking that happened on their arrival. He had a distinct feeling that the reason for it was laying inside the base this time, and immediately the computer confirmed it.

"Emergency hull breach. Emergency hull breach."

"Great. One of the two things you don't want to hear on a station with vacuum around," he heard Mira murmuring.

"What's the other thing?" Rose asked, seeming a bit shocked now.

"Fire."

"Which section?" Danny asked into the wrist-comm.

"Everyone…evacuate 11 to 13, we've got a breach! The base is open. Repeat: the base is OPEN," Zach's voice came over the device.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

The next moment they were running back to the canteen, Danny at their heels, where Jefferson joined them.

"I can't contain the oxygen field, we're gonna lose it!" Zach's voice came over the comm-device. They were hurrying through a door, which was held open by Jefferson. By now Mira could feel how the air was drawn into the direction where the hull-breach was. The atmosphere wasn't getting too much thinner yet, because there was obviously quite a bit of air in the base, but it couldn't, and wouldn't, last for long. Jefferson just pulled Toby through the door, and then finally closed it. The draught stopped and for a moment they tried to catch their breath, Toby sitting on the floor and visibly shaking. There was something wrong with him, but Mira couldn't yet say what it was.

"Breach sealed. Breach sealed," the emotionless voice of the computer said.

"Everyone all right?! What happened? What was it?" the Doctor wanted to know. Well, that actually was a good question. It didn't seem as though the base had been hit by anything. She wouldn't swear to it, but she had the distinct feeling that the reason for the breach came from inside. One could call it instinct, after spending centuries aboard space ships and space stations. To her, it seemed as if the base was shaking because of the breach, not because it had been hit by something subsequently causing the breach.

"Oxygen levels normal," the computer announced.

"Hull breach! We were open to the elements. A couple of minutes and we'd have been inspecting that black hole at close quarters," Jefferson said whilst panting heavily.

"Elements? Rather the lack of them," Mira said dryly.

Rose was crouching next to Toby, who was still on the floor. His face was covered in sweat, and Mira could hardly believe that it was only because of the hull breach. Well, maybe if he had been next to it, but then, he must have seen what had happened.

"That wasn't a quake. What caused it?" the Doctor asked.

"We've lost sections eleven to thirteen. Everyone all right?" Zach's voice came over the comm before anyone could answer the Doctor's question.

"We've got everyone here except Scooti. Scooti, report," Jefferson said

All remained silent for a moment as they were waiting for an answer. But there was none.

"Scooti Manista? That's an order. Report."

Silence.

"She's all right," Zach eventually said, "I picked up her bio chip, she's in Habitation 3. Better go and check if she's not responding; she might be unconscious."

Mira was still observing Toby – he looked down at his shaking hands as if he were seeing them for the first time. What the hell was wrong with him?

"How about that, eh? We survived," Zach continued.

"Habitation three…come on, I don't often say this, but I think we could all do with a drink. Come on," Jefferson said.

They left, leaving Mira, the Doctor, Rose, and Toby behind. She and the Doctor were also crouching in front of Toby now.

"What happened?" the Doctor asked. Mira concentrated on Toby. He was utterly confused, way beyond the normal stress reaction to an event like that.

"I don't…I dunno, I-I was working and then I can't remember. All-all that noise, the room was falling apart, there was no air…" he flustered quickly.

"Come on. Up you get. Come and have some Protein One," Rose said, as she pulled Toby to his feet, linked her arm through his and walked with him along the corridor. Mira and the Doctor followed. She would have liked to ask him more, but well, that could wait. Hopefully. She caught the Doctor's glance and shrugged. She had no idea what was going on, but suddenly the dream came back into her mind. It had been about Toby. Had it really only been a dream?

 _He is awake._

Who – or what – had they woken with their drilling and their search for this lost civilisation?

What was it that was influencing the Ood? She had to talk with the Doctor about it, to make some sense out of it. As soon as they had checked on Scooti.

Finally they reached the canteen. The room was bathed in the orange light of the black hole, since they had left the roof open, but there was still no sign of Scooti. All were there now, except for Zach, talking over each other.

"I've checked Habitation 4…" Ida said.

"There's no sign of her. The bio chip says she's in the area," Jefferson replied. "Have you seen Scooti?" he asked them as he saw them entering the room.

"No, no, no, I don't think so," Toby replied. There was no sign of her, Mira couldn't even feel her presence. Scooti had a quite distinct and strong mental presence, one that she couldn't easily miss.

"Scooti, please respond. If you can hear this, please respond!" Ida tried it again, using her comm.

"Nowhere here," Jefferson said, and then into his comm, "We've got a problem. Scooti's still missing."

"It says Habitation three."

"Yeah, well that's where I am, and I'm telling you she's not here."

"I've found her," the Doctor suddenly said. His voice had been rather quiet, but nevertheless, everyone had heard him and they all were following his eyes and looking up now. There she was, floating through space and away from the base, into the direction of the black hole. The room suddenly fell silent as everyone watched her body in shock.

"Oh, my God…" Rose whispered.

Exactly what she herself was thinking.

 _Not her. Not Scooti, not someone so young and so full of life._

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair for anyone to die, and even though Scooti had been aware of the dangers on the base, she didn't deserve this. All her dreams, hopes, plans – all that life that had been laying in front of her, it was all destroyed and gone. It had been only yesterday when Scooti had told her what she wanted to do with all the time she thought she had left.

And, even though Mira had witnessed countless times how someone so young had died right in front of her eyes, it left her in utter shock now. One couldn't get used to this. The day she would get used to it, she might as well be dead herself.

"Sorry. I'm so sorry," the Doctor whispered, standing next to her now.

"Captain... report Officer Scootori Manista PKD... deceased. 43K2.1," Jefferson said quietly into his comm.

"She was twenty…twenty years old," Ida said, stunned, before walking over to the control and closing the roof.

"For how should Man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his father... and the temples of his Gods…" Jefferson quoted. Mira looked over to him. She herself had never been religious, at least not in the common sense of the word. She had come to understand how religion and belief could give a person strength, make their lives meaningful, and she deeply respected it when someone had found something they could have so much faith in. She also knew that it was important to believe in something, if only to keep from going mad from the cruelty and the meaninglessness one could experience in the universe. A universe that could seem so indifferent about the loss of a life like Scooti's. She didn't believe in a personal god as so many humans did, but in the universe itself, in something that was more than the sum of its parts, and in destiny. But in moments like this, it was incredibly hard not only to believe, but to trust that there was something more to it. More than pure, almost cruel coincidence and arbitrariness.

It was still silent in the room. Unusually silent, she noticed. And then she realized that the ever-present drilling sound had stopped.

"It's stopped…" Ida had noticed it, too.

"What was that? What was it?" Rose asked.

"The drill," the Doctor answered. She could hear in his voice that he was still shaken by what had just happened to Scooti.

"We've stopped drilling. We've made it. Point Zero," Ida said in disbelief.

* * *

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	31. Chapter 31 - The Impossible Planet Pt 4

**Chapter XXXI**

 _Doctor's POV_

The crew of the base had broke out into activity as soon as the drilling had stopped. They were preparing for going down the shaft, ready to finally find out what was down there – the sole reason the humans were there. Rose, Mira and he were suddenly alone in the canteen.

"What do you think about all this?" Mira asked and looked at him. Good question. The hull-breach wasn't that suspicious, but Toby's behaviour on the other hand…

"Don't know. Well, I think it definitely has something to do with whatever is down there. And this, we soon will find out."

"Yeah. But what's with the Ood? They seem to ignore them, but I have a nasty feeling that there is something about to come. And Toby...he was behaving more than weird."

"Might have something to do with the fact that he was just near a hull breach?" Rose asked, and he couldn't just ignore the sarcasm in her voice. Things between her and Mira were still far from being okay, and she seemed to have completely forgotten what she had said to him back in the TARDIS, about it being fine that there would be nothing more than friendship between them. There had been to many hints earlier on after breakfast. Somehow he had the feeling that Mira had also noticed it, and would insist that he cleared it with her once and for all. Good grief, humans. Why did they always have to be so complicated?

"No, I think there was something else," Mira answered, thankfully not reacting to Rose's tone.

"Yeah, he was behaving a bit suspiciously," he said, "but I don't know what's going on with him. I guess it's best to ask him."

"Yeah, probably. But there's something else," Mira said seriously, and he looked at her, inviting her to speak on.

"I guess I picked something up when I was sleeping. I'm not sure about it, and maybe it was just a dream, but after we received this message, and what was going on with the Ood and Toby..."

"What is it?"

"It was a dream about Toby. His skin was covered in symbols like the ones here on the wall. He was saying something I couldn't understand, and his eyes were glowing red. I thought it had been something made up by my brain, putting together pieces of the day, but maybe it was something more. There definitely is a telepathic entity, and I may have gotten something from it, probably unintentionally."

"Would have been a really weird dream, if it really was only just a dream," he said thoughtfully.

"Oh, I have a tendency to having weird dreams," she said.

"But it wasn't about the future, was it?"

"No. That's different. As said, I thought it was just a dream, and maybe it is. But we should keep an eye on Toby, and the Ood."

She was right. Although she would keep an eye on them, he would go down the shaft. There was no way he would stay up here, when the TARDIS was down there. He looked back and forth between Mira and Rose. It wouldn't be easy to convince them of his plan.

"Rose? Please go to the control room and keep an eye on what's going on there. Call me if something important happens."

She looked at him, as if considering it for a moment, not exactly happy, but finally obeyed.

"Okay. I'll call you." She hesitated for one more moment, but then left the canteen.

"So. A house. Settle down, hmm?"

He spun around to Mira, watching her, bewildered. "What?! Oh come on. Not now!"

"All right. 'Not now' means later, doesn't it? I'm fine with that." She crossed her arms and looked at him with an inscrutable look on her face. If only she would stop doing that. In moments like that he couldn't tell at all what was going on in her head, and that was driving him mad. Well, not exactly in a bad way, he had to admit, but…

"Um, I think I'll go down with them," he said after clearing his throat, desperate for a change of topic, pulling at his earlobe. "See what's down there. You'll stay here and have an eye on Toby and..."

"And, I don't think so," she interrupted him determined. "I'll go with them and you stay up here. We have now idea what's down there, it might be dangerous, and, at least up here we have an idea of what to deal with. You'll have an eye on Toby, the Ood and Rose! Rose. May I remind how that went the last time I was supposed to do that?"

"She promised me to listen to you."

"Oh, did she? I'll believe it when I see it."

"Yeah, she did. Besides, the TARDIS is down there. You said it. We might find a way to her from down there."

"Yes, I did, and I can find her just as well. You're not putting yourself in danger. I've done things like this millions of times. I know what to do. Trust me, at least with this."

He observed her. She was right, old habits did die hard. He could really imagine her leading a group of people through situations like that, putting herself in their stead, in the line of fire. Not much different from him handling his companions.

"I do trust you. I'm not just saying it; I mean it. And that's why I need you up here. I even trust you to find a way to the TARDIS down there, if there is one. But you can't fly her. Plus, you seem to have a connection to whatever force there is. I saw how you threw the plant out of your mind. After everything you've told me about your abilities, I think you're much more able to deal with it than I am. Not that I'm saying you're stronger than me, but..."

"Oh, and it all sounded so flattering...until the last sentence," she interrupted him with a lopsided grin. "Fine," she continued, serious again, "You've got a point with flying the TARDIS. But then we go down together. I won't stay up here and wait and-"

"Mira. Please. I need someone up here whom I can trust, who's able to handle the situation, whatever is about to happen. Rose is good, no question, but I'm afraid that this might be a bit too much for her. I promised to keep her safe, I know. But right now we have to get the TARDIS back, and she's surely not going down there with me. Please, I know I'm asking a lot of you, but look after her."

She sighed and answered after a moment of consideration, "Let's pretend for a moment that I'll do what you want. Just answer me one question: How far shall I go to keep her safe? If it's for the best, I have no problem to knock her out and lock her in somewhere, if that's the only way to prevent her from running to her death."

"What?" He stared at her. Would she really do that? Probably. If it would be the only way, he would probably do the same. At least, the locking her in part; he had knocked out a few people himself, although mainly in his fourth regeneration.

"Oh come on, don't look so shocked. You know how she can be. Clock-work space-ship, remember?"

He looked around the room in discomfort, ruffling his hair, and answered, "Do whatever you think is necessary. As said, I trust you, hmm?" He looked in her eyes, trying to figure out if she believed him. He really meant what he was saying. There might still be things she was keeping from him, but he believed that she was helping as best as she could, and would not deceive him.

"Do you?" she asked quietly, returning his gaze. "I wonder just how far."

His face fell as he heard her reply. What else could he do to make it right again? He'd had the whole night to think about all this. Not only about their fight, but also his feelings towards her, although he was still trying to deny them. He was drawn to her, more than he wanted. At first, it had been fun to tease, even challenge each other. But, somewhere along the way, it had changed, at least for him. He couldn't tell when this had happened, and even less if he liked it, but there it was. He couldn't even say what it was about her. Her strength? How she had managed to give him hope again, even after what he had accused her of? The feeling that she was really able to understand him, even without words? The few and short moments when she had touched his mind? And now, he had the nasty feeling that he might have shattered it all.

"Mira," he started to say, the resignation clearly audible in his voice, "I've already apologised. If there is something else I can do, then please, tell me."

"No, it's...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up. Not now." She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, before continuing, "Let's get ready, or they'll go without you."

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

She had been in the control room, but there had only been Zach, and she felt that there wouldn't be anything interesting happening any time soon. Besides, it bothered her that the Doctor was obviously with Mira right now. It was more than enough that they seemed to spend so much time together when she was sleeping. Mira hadn't been in their room at the base when she went to bed, so she assumed that she had been with him. She had hardly spent any time with him alone since the other woman arrived. Not even the fight he'd had with her seemed to change anything between them. Had she really foreseen what would happen? And, if so, why did he forgive her so quickly?

She finally found him next to the lift that would go down the mineshaft, with Mira, of course. She was helping him with the orange space suit he was wearing.

"Oxygen...nitro-balance...gravity. It's ages since I wore one of these!" he said to Mira.

"Told you, they're a bit...antiquated," Mira replied.

"What's that going to be for?" Rose asked and hurried over to them. "You're not going down there, are you?"

"Rose, please," he started, "the TARDIS is down there. I have to."

"But if it's down there, they will find it. Mira can go!" Why did he have to endanger his life? It seemed to be dangerous, going down a mineshaft to the very core of the planet. If something were to happen to him, she would on her own there. On a planet that didn't even have a name, orbiting a black hole, stuck in the future, with no one to turn to.

 _Without him. Alone._

Suddenly the severity of the situation fully hit her, and she could feel tears forming in her eyes. She blinked them away, not needing Mira to see her cry like a child.

"It's funny, 'cos people back home think that space travel's gonna be all whizzing about and teleports and anti-gravity... but it's not, is it?" She looked at him, searching for comfort in his eyes. "It's tough," she added.

He took her hands in gloved hands. "I'll see you later," he said with confidence, before he let go of her hands and put on the helmet that Mira handed him.

"Not if I see you first," she answered and tried a smile. Then she pulled his head down and placed a kiss on the helmet. Right now she didn't care what Mira was thinking. Well, she did. In case the other woman got jealous.

"Just one more thing," the Doctor said, his voice slightly muted by the helmet. "No fighting when I'm gone. You both said that there's a new start. And Rose, you will listen to her. We have no idea what's going on here, and it might be dangerous. So if Mira tells you to stand back, you'll do so. I don't want you to get hurt. Promise me that."

She shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. What was he thinking? That she was a little child? She could very well look after herself. She was about to tell him that, but then thought about what her mother had said to her, and just nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?" He raised his brows.

"Yeah. I'm fine with it. You're probably right."

Before he could say another word, Zach appeared. "What's that going to be?" he repeated her very words.

"Reporting as a volunteer for the expeditionary force," the Doctor replied cheerfully.

"Doctor, this is breaking every single protocol. We don't even know who you are."

"Yeah, but you trust me, don't you? And you can't let Ida go down there on her own. Go on... look me in the eye...yes you do, I can see it. Trust."

"I should be going down."

"Give it up. I've tried that already," Mira interrupted them.

"What? None of you is going down! If someone is going, then it's me." Zach said, looking at them.

"The Captain doesn't lead the mission. He stays here. In charge," the Doctor said to him.

"Not much good at it, am I?" Zach replied, and Rose could hear the bitterness in his voice. The Doctor just looked at him.

Zach sighed and said, now addressing everyone, "Positions! We're going down in two. Everyone, positions!"

"And you," Mira said to the Doctor, "You'll report back to me. You, and the space suit, in one piece. Got that?"

"Yes, Major," he replied steadily, copying Mira's tone, but with a soft and gentle look in his eyes that made Rose's heart ache. It had not only been gentle, it had been loving. She was almost certain about that, and this certainty and the pain it brought was eating her up from the inside. Had he ever looked at her in that way? Suddenly, she saw it all too clearly. She had lost him. And there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

"Capsule active. Counting down in 10...9..." sounded Zach's voice over the comm. The Doctor and Ida went into the capsule and Jefferson closed the door behind them. Rose looked at him and had the sudden urge to stop him, because she got overwhelmed by the feeling that she would never see him again, once he went down there. That something would happen to him. But, at the same time, she knew she couldn't stop him now. She waved at him whilst Zach was counting down, and then the capsule began to descent into the shaft. She looked around as soon as the capsule was out of sight. Toby was sitting in a corner, seeming strangely nervous and checking his hands. Then her eyes fell to Mira. She had heard what the Doctor had told her, but she had no intention to follow his orders. It didn't matter now anyway, did it? She had lost, no matter what. The only chance she was seeing now was to sabotage Mira somehow, hoping that he would get angry at her again–even more than he did before. She just had to be a bit more careful than the last time in the TARDIS. She wouldn't make the same mistake–using his trust–twice.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira watched as the capsule descended. She didn't like the situation at all. Of course, the Doctor had been right – if there was one of them going down, it had to be him, because she couldn't fly the TARDIS. But, staying up here with Rose, and taking care of her, wouldn't be easy. She had felt the waves of hate and jealousy coming off of her, and she had also seen how the Doctor had looked at her, had seen the intensity in his eyes. But – in opposite of Rose – she wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He was still a mystery to her in most parts.

All in all, she had a more than bad feeling about the whole operation, and she hated to be condemned to inactivity. Well, there was still Toby, who was behaving more weirdly with every passing minute. But, on the good side, she hadn't felt the strange presence again, and even the Ood seem to behave normally, at least the three that were here with them. And Danny, who had an eye on the others at Ood Habitation hadn't reported anything odd either.

"Gone beyond the oxygen field. You're on your own," Zach said, and, before she could prevent it, Rose had grabbed the mic of the comm and said, "Don't forget to breath. Breathing's good," and demonstrating the action afterwards.

"Rose, give that to..." she started, but was interrupted by Zach, "Rose, stay off the comm."

"Fat chance," she murmured and shot an angry look to Mira.

 _Oh, holy shit._

Rose obviously had no intention to do as the Doctor had told her. Fine. If she wanted to block the comm, she should do so. Right now they couldn't do anything else then to watch the descent of the capsule. She looked at the computer screen that showed a diagram of the mineshaft with the capsule in it. They were almost there. Just as they reached point zero, the whole base started to shake again, and for a moment they all had to fight to stay on their feet. Mira headed for the comm, but Rose was faster.

"Doctor?" she asked, and the fear in her voice was clear to anyone who could hear. "Doctor, are you all right?"

But there was no response. Now, Zach was trying it as well. "Ida, report to me..." Nothing.

"Doctor?"

Just as the silence threatened to overwhelm them all, the Doctor finally responded, "It's all right...we've made it. Coming out of the capsule now."

Mira and Rose sighed in relief, and even Jefferson seemed to relax a bit. Only Toby remained in his corner, as nervous as ever.

"What's it like down there?" Rose asked.

"It's hard to tell...some sort of...cave...cavern...it's massive," the Doctor answered, and they all could hear how impressed he was. After a moment of silence, he continued, "Rose...you can tell Toby, we've found his civilisation."

Well, at least they had found something down there. Could have been worse, couldn't it?

"Oi, Toby - sounds like you've got plenty of work," Rose told Toby cheerfully.

Toby, on the other hand, wasn't cheerful at all. One would think he would be over the moon, but, instead, he just murmured, "Good, good. Good."

"Concentrate now, people. Keep on the mission. Ida...what about the power source?" Zach said from the control room.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

It was incredible down there. He wondered how long this civilisation was gone, when not even the TARDIS could translate these writings. And then, putting this planet around a black hole, it was incredible. Well, not that incredible compared to his people and Time Lord technology, but at least quite impressive.

"We're close. Energy signature indicates north-northwest. Are you getting pictures up there?" Ida asked over the comm. He looked at her. She had a lot of the things he loved so much about humanity. The urge to go forward, to explore, no matter what the risks were.

"There's too much interference. We're in your hands," Zach replied.

"Well...we've come this far. There's no turning back," Ida said to him.

"Oh, did you have to? No turning back? That's almost as bad as "nothing can possibly go wrong," or "this is gonna be the best Christmas Walford's ever had," " he had just started, as Ida turned around to him.

"Are you finished?"

He stared at her for a long moment, caught completely off-guard.

"Yeah! Finished," he finally said. Did he really talk that much? Well, he did know that he could babble, but not _that_ much...

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira almost started to regret that she had stayed back, because nothing was happening, and she felt the strange presence again. Just as she opened her senses to the Ood, she was flooded with a white noise in her head again, and Danny said over the comm, "Captain, sir. There's something happening with the Ood."

"What are they doing?" Zach wanted to know. Right now Mira was glad that they were broadcasting to the whole base, and not only between the single stations.

"They're staring at me. I've told them to stop, but they won't," came Danny's response.

"Danny, you're a big boy. I think you can take being stared at," Zach said, seemingly annoyed.

Just as Mira had winded the mic quickly out of Rose's hand, ignoring her struggles, Danny said, "But the telepathic field, Sir. It's at Basic 100! I've checked–there isn't any fault. It's definitely 100."

"But that's impossible," Zach said in disbelief.

"I'm afraid it's not," Mira said over the comm. "There is something going on Zach, I'll go to Ood habitation."

"What's Basic 100 mean?" Rose asked as Mira had given the mic back to her.

"They should be dead," Danny answered.

"Basic 100's brain death," Jefferson confirmed.

"Oh hell, you really have no idea about the Ood or psychic abilities, do you? Brain dead. Sure. I mean, it's strong, whatever is causing it, but not that strong." Mira said to Jefferson.

Before he could reply, Zach asked, "But they're safe? They're not actually moving?"

"No, sir,"

"Keep watching them. And you, Jefferson – keep a guard on the Ood," Zach said.

Fine. Jefferson was staying here, keeping an eye on the Ood and hopefully on Rose.

"Officers at arms!" he commanded and readied his gun. Well, maybe she had to reconsider the last part.

"Yes, sir," one of the guards said.

"You can't fire a gun in here. What if they hit a wall?" Rose wanted to know. Of course. She only knew of one kind of bullet from her time.

"I'm firing stock 15, only packs upon organics," he replied, then, to the security guard, "Keep watch. Guard them."

"Is everything all right up there?" the Doctor wanted to know. Had the comm-link been active all the time?

"Yeah, yeah," Rose answered, followed by Zach, "It's fine."

"Great!", Danny fell in sarcastically.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

In front of them was an enormous, circular trapdoor, covered in engravings.

"We've found something. It looks like metal, like some sort of seal. I've got a nasty feeling the word might be 'trapdoor'. Not a good word, 'trapdoor'. Never met a trapdoor I liked," he said over the comm. At this moment, he was really glad that Mira was up there. She would handle it, no matter what could happen; although, he would have liked to have her with him as well.

"The edge is covered with those symbols," Ida said, after shining her torch at them.

"Do you think it opens?" Zach asked.

"That's what trapdoors tend to do," he said, as Ida walked around it.

"'Trapdoor' doesn't do it justice. It's massive, Zach. About thirty feet in diameter," she said.

"Any way of opening it?" Zach was a bit of a pragmatist, he couldn't help to notice.

"I don't know. I can't see any sort of mechanism," Ida answered.

"I suppose that's the writing, that'll tell us what to do. The letters that defy translation," he said.

"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?" he could hear Zach asking. At least the comm-link to the base was still working.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She was about to head for Ood Habitation – she had asked Jefferson for a weapon, but he had refused – as things started to escalate. Rose had just asked Toby if he had been able to make anything out of the lettering yet, as the strange presence fully hit her. At the same moment Toby –still in his corner, head in his arms – answered, "I know what it says."

His voice was perfectly calm now, but Rose didn't seem to notice it.

"Then tell them," she ordered him to do so.

"When did you work that out?" Jefferson wanted to know, as oblivious as Rose.

"It doesn't matter, just tell them," Rose demanded.

"Jefferson, Rose, carefully, there is something going on with him," Mira said. She was now certain that something had taken over him, and she was trying to analyse it, to block it, but it proved to be quite strong. Suddenly, Toby stood up and turned towards them. His skin was covered in symbols, and he stared at them out of red, glowing eyes. Just as in her dream. This must have happened before, probably during last night.

"These are the words of the Beast," he proclaimed with a deep, hollow voice, "And he has woken."

It took Mira only seconds to gather herself. She wasn't as surprised as the others were. She stepped in front of them and asked, "Who are you?"

"Get out of the way!" she heard Jefferson behind her. Hopefully he wouldn't do something stupid right now. She still believed that she could make contact with this entity, or maybe even fight it.

"He is the heart that beats in the darkness, he is the blood that will never cease. And now he will rise."

"Identify yourself. What do you want?" Mira tried it again, no trace of fear or insecurity in her voice. Jefferson was now standing next to her, pointing his gun at Toby.

"Officer, stand down. STAND DOWN!"

"Jefferson, don't. You'll only kill Toby, but that's not Toby who's speaking," she tried to stop him.

Toby was flexing his arms, counteracting her attempts to hold Jefferson back.

"Officer, as commander of security, I order you to stand down and be confined. Immediately!"

"He's come out in those symbols all over his face. They're all over him," Rose yelled into the comm. At least she was keeping a clear head now.

Toby considered them for a moment, then continued, "Mr. Jefferson, tell me, sir...did your wife ever forgive you?"

"I don't know what you mean," Jefferson answered. A lie, that was clear. So, whatever had possessed Toby was obviously telepathic.

"Let me tell you a secret: she never did," Toby replied, smiling sardonically.

"Officer... you stand down and be confined," Jefferson said, a bit less self-secure now.

"Or what?"

"Or under the jurisdiction of Condition Red, I am authorised to shoot you."

Mira had used the time to gather herself for a counter-attack. She didn't really belief that she could throw this entity out of Toby's mind, but she had to find out how strong it really was. She had analysed it by now and could clearly see the wavelength of his psychic energy. She adapted her own energy, concentrated on the entity and, just as he was again talking to Jefferson, she stroked it. Toby wavered for a second, and then focused his red eyes on her. Instantly she knew that it hadn't been a success. Not that she had anticipated it, but it had had less effect than she had hoped. Not only that, but she had also felt its presence in her own mind, for a moment. She had no idea what it had seen there. All in all, her try had gone horribly wrong.

 _Shit._

"Oh, what's that," he said. "The immortal one. So brave on the outside, yet so afraid on the inside, equally afraid of living and dying. Tell me, have you decided yet what's worse? Eternal life or finding eternity in death?"

"Tell me something I don't know yet," she replied as calm as she could. So it had been in her head and headed straight for her sore spots. No magic behind that, just plain and simple mind-games. Well, it had been a hit, and clearly nothing she liked the others to know, but she couldn't change it now. She was indeed very well aware of her fears. It had almost scared the living daylight out of her to know that her days were counted, that she would grow old, wither and die like anyone else, even back then, before she had met _It_ and known that there was indeed a way to become immortal. And yes, she now dreaded eternity probably as much as she had dreaded death, but she knew it. She had confronted herself and accepted it. There was no way this entity could use it against her.

 _No way._

Really?

Instead of replying, Toby's eyes lit up, his mouth opened in a low roar and the symbols whirling away in black smoke, heading straight for the three Ood who were with them at the exploration deck. Toby collapsed on the floor, seemingly himself again, but nevertheless, things went from bad to worse. Now, the Ood seemed to be possessed, their eyes red as they said as one, "We are the Legion of the Beast."

Jefferson pointed his gun at them now.

"Rose? What is it? Mira?" the Doctor's voice came over the comm, followed by Zach, "Report. Report! Jefferson, report! Someone, report!"

"The Legion shall be many. And the Legion shall be few..." the Ood continued.

"It's the Ood," Rose said.

"Sir, we have a contamination in the livestock," Jefferson said over his wrist-comm.

"Doctor, I don't know what it is – it's... it's like they're possessed," Rose explained.

"They won't listen to us."

"He has woven himself in the fabric of your life since the dawn of time," the Ood stated, clearly unimpressed. "Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Kroptor. Some may call him Satan..."

 _Satan? Really?_

Mira probably could free some of the Ood from the influence, at least temporarily, but right now there was no need for it, and it was probably for the best to keep that fact from _Satan_ for a while.

"Or Lucifer..." the Ood continued.

"Satan? Lucifer? Really? I would have expected something better than playing with basic human fears!" Mira said to the Ood, hoping that she could draw the attention of the creatures – or whatever had possessed them–away from the others to herself.

"Or the Bringer of Despair..." they were ignoring her. "The Deathless Prince. The Bringer of Night."

"Are you done yet? Then, maybe, you can finally say what you want and we can stop this ridiculous game of..." she tried it again but got interrupted.

"These are the words that shall set him free."

"Hey! Where I come from, you let others finish their sentence!" They were now backing away from the Ood, Jefferson next to her, Toby and Rose behind her.

"Back up to the Door!" Jefferson shouted over his shoulder.

"I shall become manifest," the Ood continued.

"Well then, finally! Show yourself!" Mira shouted at them. She had enough of it. This was leading nowhere. It was only supposed to frighten them, and, unfortunately, it seemed to work. Even Jefferson was feeling a bit nervous now.

"Move quickly!" he urged. "Mira, stop it! We have to get out!"

"Yeah, well, then, do get out. I'll distract them."

"I shall walk in might," the Ood announced.

"To the door! Get it open!", Jefferson yelled.

"My Legions shall swarm across the worlds..."

They were trying to open the door, just as the base shook. This time it felt like an earthquake, as if the whole planet was pushed out of its orbit.

Not good.

"We're moving! The whole thing's moving! The planet's moving!" Zach confirmed her worst thoughts.

"I am the sin and the temptation, and the desire. I am the pain and the loss, and the

Dead will come," the Ood continued approaching them.

"Oh, just shut it! We got it!" she yelled at them; not that she had any hopes that they would listen.

"Get that door open," Jefferson was shouting behind her back.

"The gravity field... it's going! We're losing orbit!" Zach said over the comm, panic in his voice.

"We're gonna fall into the black hole!"

They door still didn't move, and Jefferson was now aiming at the Ood again, who continued, "I have been imprisoned for eternity. But no more."

"Door sealed," the computer announced.

"Come on!" Rose cried, her hands still on the door lock.

"Door sealed."

Suddenly, the Ood still advancing towards them, a deep, dark voice filled the air. Just like the voice she had heard in her own head earlier on.

"The Pit is open. And I am free."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He had heard what was going on in the base. He couldn't really make sense of it, but it hadn't sounded good. Not at all. He should really get up there, as soon as possible. Even though the TARDIS was still down here somewhere. With all these caverns, maybe she was here somewhere. Well, they always could come back. Suddenly, the ground started to shake and the trapdoor slowly slid open. At the same time he heard Zach shouting over the comm, that the planet itself was moving.

If it could get any worse…

"Doctor! It's opening!" Ida yelled. The next moment they were showered with rocks. He hesitated for a moment, but then decided to help Ida instead of going back immediately.

As soon as she was back on her feet again, he looked over to the trapdoor. It was completely open now, smoke rising from it. The ground was still shaking, although not as bad as moments ago.

Suddenly he heard a voice, just like the one in his head. It filled the air, his mind, everything. Surely they could hear it in the base as well.

"The Pit is open. And I am free."

* * *

 _Thanks to Lucifae for beta-reading this chapter._

 _Ronin Kenshin: Thanks for your review._

 _10th Squad 3rd Seat: I think mainly because Rose had forgotten – again – that he would have to live a lot longer like that as she have to._

 _AxidentlGoddes: Thanks for your detailed review :-) I hope I can keep up with your expectations with this chapter :-)_

 _bored411: I´m glad you liked that part. I actually was a bit unsure how it would come across._

 _Wicken25: Not much surprises here, I´m afraid, but I hope I´ve given enough reasons why she stayed up and he went down._

 _OxxgerogiaxXo: Thanks for reviewing it :-)_


	32. Chapter 32 - The Satan Pit Pt 1

**Chapter XXXII**

 _Mira's POV_

There wasn't much time to think about what they'd just heard, because the Ood were still approaching. Mira was just attempting to break the influence laying on them as Jefferson suddenly yelled, "Open fire!" and pulled her behind him, then he and the other security officer started firing at them. Not a moment later the three Ood were lying dead on the floor.

Mira spun around to Jefferson and said in an almost commanding voice, "The next time you wait with opening fire and, most of all, you don't shoot without an..."

 _Order._

That was what she had wanted to say, having forgotten for a moment that neither was she in charge here, nor did he know who she was and what her plans had been. He even had no idea that she would have been able to stop the Ood without killing them.

"Not without what?" Jefferson wanted to know in a cool and slightly distrusting tone.

"Order," she decided heading forward. "I'm sorry. I forgot that I'm not at home and not in command. But maybe you may consider that I'm able to stop the Ood without killing them, so it would be great to warn me before you shoot them." She looked at him, but it was all to clear that he didn't believe her His distrust was even getting stronger.

"Why would you be in charge?" he finally asked, still sounding sceptically.

"Well, maybe because someone suffers from an inflated ego...", Rose murmured.

 _Great. Seems that problems with her are already starting..._

Thankfully, Zach spared her the answer as he announced over the intercom, "We're stabilising...We've got orbit."

By now the shaking of the base had almost stopped. She could see how Rose was heading for the comm, but she had been closer to it, stepped over the bodies of the dead Ood, grabbed it and asked, "Doctor? Ida? Report!" There was no reply, only static over the speaker. "Doctor, can you hear me? Ida? Are you there?" she tried it again, her eyes still on the Ood. They had been innocent, she was convinced of that, but she had been to slow to safe them. She should have tried to free them sooner, no matter if this entity would have noticed her true abilities.

"Open Door 25."

She lifted her head as the door opened and Jefferson raised his weapon, but it was only Danny.

"It's me! But they're coming," he yelled and slammed the door shut again.

"Close Door 25."

"It's the Ood. They've gone mad," he said, trying to catch his breath.

"How many of them?" Jefferson wanted to know.

"All of them! All fifty!"

"Oh fu...," Mira started, as Jefferson was approaching the door.

"Danny, out of the way," he said, and as Danny wasn't reacting, he even pushed him out of the way.

"Jefferson, wait!" Mira said, "Do you really think you can just shoot fifty Oods? Kill them all?"

"They're armed! They're da-," Danny fell in, right as Jefferson started to open the door, obviously ignoring them both.

"It's the interface device. I don't know how, but they're using it as a weapon," Danny continued.

"Open door 25."

Just as the door swung open, they all could see the Ood on the other side – Ood with glowing red eyes. One of them immediately advanced and hold his communication device to the head of the guard. She was dead almost instantly. As soon as her dead body had slumped to the floor, Jefferson was opening fire again. Right now Mira was agreeing that this was their only option. No way she could free all of the Ood so quickly, and they were determined to kill them. At least the force possessing them was about doing so.

They managed to drive them back and closed the door again.

"Jefferson, what's happening, there?" Zach asked over the intercom.

"I've got very little ammunition, sir. How about you?" Jefferson replied.

"All I've got is a bolt gun. With uh... all of one bolt. I could take out a grand total of one Ood. Fat lot of good that is," Zach answered.

"Given the emergency...I recommend Strategy Nine," Jefferson said.

Strategy nine? Mira had no idea what that was, but judging from Jefferson's voice it was something really bad. Some sort of ultimate solution.

"Strategy Nine agreed. Right, we need to get everyone together. Mira? What about Ida and the Doctor? Any word?" Zach asked, sounding defeated.

"No, not yet. You're sure the comm-link is still up?"

But before Zach could say anything, the voice of the Doctor came over the speaker, "No! Sorry, I'm fine. Still here!"

"Doctor!" Rose yelled and was instantly at her side, grabbing for the mic. Mira just managed to get it out of her reach in time. Not that she wasn't relieved to hear him too, but now there was no time for that.

"You could've said, you stupid b-" Rose started, but Mira shushed her.

"What's going on down there? You're alright?"

"Yeah we´re alright. It's both of us, me and Ida. Hello! But the seal opened up. It's gone. All we've got left is this chasm."

"How deep is it?" Zach asked.

"Can't tell. It looks like it goes on forever."

"The pit is open.", Rose repeated, "That's what the voice said."

"But there's nothing? I mean...," Zach wondered. "There's... NOTHING coming out?"

"No, no. No sign of 'the Beast'," the Doctor answered.

"Nothing you could see or really _nothing_ nothing?" Mira asked.

"Looks like really nothing," he replied.

"It said 'Satan'," Rose said, her voice slightly shaking. Mira looked at her. Well, if that thing had been about to spread fear, it clearly was successful.

"Come on, Rose. Keep it together," the Doctor said after a small pause.

"Is there no such thing?" Rose wanted to know.

But the Doctor didn't reply.

"There is no such thing," Mira eventually answered in his stead. "It's only a concept. Something for us to blame, so that we don't have to face the evil and cruelty that lies within humanity. No matter what we believe in, God, Satan, all good or bad things, its only just a part of us. Naturally, we find it easier to embrace our good sides than face our bad ones."

Rose didn't reply but just looked at her. She really hoped that the girl would see what was going on, but unfortunately there was hardly time for detailed explanations about basic psychology right now.

"Ida? I recommend that you withdraw. Immediately," Zach finally decided.

"But... we've come all this way!" It was clear that Ida didn't agree.

"Okay, that was an order. WITH-DRAW. With that thing open, the whole planet's shifted. One more inch and we fall into the black hole. So this thing stops right now."

"But it's not much better up there with the Ood," Ida kept insisting.

"I'm initiating Strategy Nine, so I need the two of you back up top immediately, no arguing," Zach said, but there was no response. Most likely they had switched of the comm.

"Ida? IDA?" Zach yelled. Still no reply.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

"What do you think?"

The Doctor looked at Ida and answered, "I think they've an order."

"Yeah, but... what do YOU think?"

He walked closer to the pit, put one foot on the edge and looked down. It was good that Mira was up there, at least she wasn't about to freak out because some being was calling himself Satan or Devil. He hoped she would be able to keep order, if things went worse.

"It said 'I am the temptation'," he finally answered.

"If... if there's something in there... why's it still hiding?"

"Maybe... we opened the prison but not the cell." He had wondered about that himself.

"We should go down. I'd go. What about you?"

"Oh! Oh, in a second, but then again..." It was tempting. More than that. But he wasn't here on his own. There was Rose, Mira, he had to find the TARDIS. He had a responsibility and couldn't act as he saw fit. Not as he had done on the clock-work ship. Yes, he had indeed thought about what Mira had thrown at him back then. Plus, he had no idea what _Satan_ new about him so far. Maybe... But why must it had to be _so_ tempting?

"That is so human," he said and turned his head to Ida. "Where angels fear to tread. Even now, standing on the edge. It's that feeling you get. Yeah?" He was now looking down again. "Right at the back of your head. That impulse... that strange little impulse... that mad little voice saying "go on... go on... go on... go over, go on..." maybe it's relying on that. For once in my life... Officer Scott... I'm going to say...," he looked at her again, meeting her eyes. For a moment they didn't move. "Retreat." There it was. He sighed and pulled his foot back from the edge of the pit. "Now I know I'm getting old," he murmured, and then into the comm, "Rose, we're coming back."

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

"Best news I've heard all day!" she said excited as the Doctor had announced that they would come back. She was looking at the others, just in time to see how Jefferson released the safety catch on his gun and pointed it at Toby.

"What're you doing?" she asked and walked over to him. That couldn't be true, could it? They were not about to shoot at each other now?

"He's infected. He brought that thing on board. You saw it," he said, without lowering his gun.

"He's not infected," Mira said as she was also coming closer. Rose took a look at Toby. He was sitting in his corner, eyes wide with fear. Rose considered the situation for a moment. Mira was rather close to Jefferson right now. She wouldn't allow him to shoot, would she? Rose herself went closer to Toby.

"Are you gonna start shooting your own people, now? Is that what you're gonna do? Is it? "

"If necessary," Jefferson replied icily.

"Well then, you'll have to shoot me 'if necessary', so what's it gonna be?" Rose challenged him.

"Rose, don't!" Mira begged. Yeah, well, Mira should protect her, but that didn't mean to do nothing at all for Rose. On the contrary, if she would get hurt, it would be Mira's fault.

Rose was now kneeling next to Toby, whilst Jefferson was still pointing his gun at him. "Look at his face. Whatever it was, it's gone. It passed into the Ood. You saw it happen. He's clean," she tried to convince him.

"Rose's right. He was possessed. Kill him and this entity will choose someone else," Mira said.

"Guess who'll that be then," Rose said under her breath, before she could help herself. Well, wasn't impossible, was it? Mira should be the ideal target for this thing, being all psychic. How much did Mira know about this entity anyway? A lot, enough to make herself suspicious, maybe it had been in her head already.

It took Jefferson a moment of consideration, then he finally said, "Any sign of trouble... I'll shoot him," and moved away.

"Are you all right?" she asked Toby, although it was obvious that he wasn't.

"Yeah... I...," he replied, sounding close to tears, "Dunno."

"Can you remember anything?"

"Just... it was so angry. It was... fury and rage... death...," he answered, and finally, after glancing around the room, he met her eyes. "It was him. It was the devil."

"Come here," she said before she drew him into a comforting hug.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor was walking back to the capsule, Ida next to him. "What's strategy nine?" he asked.

"Open the airlocks... we'll be safe inside the lock down... the Ood will get thrown out into the vacuum." she replied.

"So we're going back to a slaughter?" Meanwhile, they had reached the capsule. That couldn't be true, could it? Humans. Would they ever learn? No matter how far they've come, what they've archived, they seemed to resort always to things like that.

"The devil's work," Ida replied. She didn't seem to like it as well, but she obviously had no saying in it.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

"Okay, we're in. Bring us up," Mira heard Ida say over the comm.

"Ascension in...," Jefferson said, operating the controls of the capsule, "Three... two... one."

Suddenly the lights went out and the mechanism of the capsule failed. It almost was as if the power in the whole base was failing, but the communication still seemed to work.

"This is the Darkness. This is my domain," Mira heard a voice in the dark. It was coming over the comm, and a moment later the display on the screen changed to Ood Habitation. The Ood were standing together, obviously serving the entity once again.

"You little things that live in the light... clinging to your feeble Suns...," it said through the Oods, "... which die in the..."

"That's not the Ood. Something's talking through them," Zach said.

"That's true. There is some entity, using the Ood, using Toby and probably others. No need for panic. It is only an alien life-fo-" Mira was about to say, but got interrupted by the Ood.

"Only the Darkness remains."

"This is Captain Zachary Cross Flane of Sanctuary Base Six representing the Torchwood archive. You will identify yourself," Zach demanded.

"You know my name."

"What do you want?" Zach asked.

"You will die here. All of you. This planet is your grave."

"It's him. It's him. It's him...," Toby said, sitting on the floor trembling. Mira honestly hoped he wouldn't lose it entirely.

"If you are the Beast, then answer me this: which one? Hmm? 'Cos the universe has been busy since you've been gone. There's more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Archivits... Pordonity, Christianity... Pash-Pash, New Judaism... Sanclar... Church of the Tin Vagabond - which devil are you?" That was the Doctor. At least the comm-link was still active.

"All of them."

"Well, that's not really an answer," Mira murmured.

"What, then you're the truth behind the myth?" the Doctor said.

"This one knows me - as I know him. The killer of his own kind."

 _What? Killer of his own kind?_

What had this entity just said? Was this just a wild accusation or had it been in the Doctor's head as well? But the Doctor chose to not acknowledge it.

"How did you end up on this rock?" he asked instead.

"The disciples of the Light rose up against me. And chained me in the pit for all eternity."

"When was this?"

"Before time."

"What does THAT mean?!"

"Before time."

"What does 'before time' MEAN?"

"Before light and time and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created."

"That's impossible. No life could have existed back then."

"Is that your religion?"

"It's a belief."

"You know nothing. All of you. So small."

"Well, isn't that the point about beliefs? Not knowing something, so being forced to _believe_? To _trust_?" Mira said, loud enough to be picked up by the comm. "Would you even be here without beliefs? If we would just _know_ that there is no such thing as Satan? Maybe you're not the truth behind the myth. Maybe the myth is the base of your existence?" If this thing was up for mind games, it could have them. She had argued with other beings before, beings that would have been called gods in earlier times, beings that were older than mankind. But, she had to admit, it was good. With all the lights out and taking over the Ood. Besides that, humans always tended to get frightened if someone could probably read their thoughts. And they were frightened by now. They were trying to hold themselves together, but some were only a step away from panicking.

"The lost one. So brave," the entity said, obviously addressing her now. "Or is it only desperation? You know where these two things – bravery and despair - have lead you once, don't you? You, destroyer of the stars."

She stopped dead in her tracks for a second and felt how her heart skipped a beat.

 _Destroyer of the stars._

She had expected a lot of things, but not that it would come up with _this_. It had been so long ago. Way over thousand years by now. She had been so young back then. Not even fifty years old. Young enough for being so arrogant to believe that she was aware of the consequences of her actions. All consequences. And arrogant enough to touch forces that should have been left untouched by humans for all times. And it was haunting her ever since, had become a part of her mere existence, not only because her whole life had changed after that day. Rose, Jefferson and Danny were looking at her, obviously not sure what to make of it.

"Go on. That's all?" she decided to head for confrontation, her voice slightly shaky now. "Because you know, throwing baseless accusation at us only shows us how desperate _you_ really are. Locked away for ages next to a black-hole, who wouldn't go mad?"

"You know that it is not baseless. But let the rest decide for themselves. The Captain, so scared of command. The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife. The scientist, still running from daddy. The little boy who lied... The virgin..."

Oh well, that must have been Danny and Toby, Mira thought after she had looked at them. And everyone in this base knew by now that Satan was telling the truth about them.

"And the girl, so insecure and so young, Now it's all falling apart for you. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon."

"Doctor, what does it mean?" Rose asked, all colour gone from her face.

"Rose, don't listen," he replied quietly.

"What does it mean?" Rose insisted.

"Don't listen to him," Mira said. "'Satan' is psychic and obviously able to get in our minds. He's only playing with us. He want's to frighten us. Don't let him!"

"You will die... and I will live," the Oods announced, and Mira could have as well spared her words, as suddenly an image of a horned beast appeared on the screen. All around her gasped and stumbled backwards.

"What the hell was that?" Danny yelled in fear.

"I had that thing inside my head," Toby whined.

"Doctor, what did it mean?" Rose said, now on the verge of panicking.

"What do we do? Jefferson?" Now they were all talking over each other.

"Captain? What's the situation on Strategy Nine?" Jefferson was asking Zach over the comm.

"Zach, what do we do?"

"Everyone, listen!" Mira tried to stop them.

"What if I can fix it? ... the black hole, everything's true."

"Captain, report."

"We've lost pictures..."

"Doctor, how did it know all of..."

"Did anyone get..."

"Jefferson?"

"Stop...," the Doctor was trying it now as well, unsuccessfully.

"What did it mean?"

"Everyone just stop..."

"What do we do?"

"Report."

Suddenly the loud and shrill screech of an acoustic feedback came over the speaker. The talking stopped and for a moment it was completely silent. The waves of fear and panic that had come over her ceased slightly, as they were trying to sort out where that noise had come from.

"If you want voices in the dark, then listen to mine; that thing is playing on very basic fears. Darkness - childhood nightmares, all that stuff," the Doctor said.

He had been right, Mira fully realised now, that one of them had to stay up here. Were they the only two ones left thinking clearly? "Thanks. At least one voice of reason," she said quietly.

"But that's how the devil works," Danny said.

"Yeah. And he knows that, and now we know it. So no need for panic and chaos, hm?" Mira said to him.

"She's right. Whatever that is, it's probably just a good psychologist," the Doctor added.

"But... how did it know about my father?" Ida asked.

"I said it. Probably it's telepathic. Can't help that know, but it also has nothing to do with being the Devil!" Mira told her.

"Yeah. Plus, what makes his version of the truth any better than mine? Hmm? Cos I'll tell you what I can see: humans. Brilliant humans. Humans who travel all the way across space. Flying in a tiny little rocket into the orbit of a black hole! Just for the sake of discovery, that's amazing! Do you hear me? Amazing. All of you. The captain - his officer - his elder - his genius - his friends. All with one advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him-"

Just as he had managed to ease the situation a bit, the cable suddenly snapped. Faster than she would have ever expected it, it fell down the ten mile long shaft, sending back up a cloud of dust.

"Doctor! We lost the cable! Doctor, are you all right?" Mira asked automatically, whilst she was still trying to realise the implications of what just happened. "Doctor?" No cable. No way up for them.

"Comms are down," Zach said. She slowly put the mic down. No need to try it any further then.

"I've still got life signs, but... we've lost the capsule," Zach added after a few moments. She sighed. At least they were alive.

Rose had grabbed the mic in the meantime, "Say something - are you there?"

"The comm is down Rose, you've heard Zach."

"There's no way out," Zach said as if hardly being able to believe it. "They're stuck down there."

* * *

 _oXxgergiaxXo, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, Jadeo, bored411: Thanks for your reviews :-)_


	33. Chapter 33 - The Satan Pit Pt 2

**Chapter XXXIII**

 _Mira's POV_

Mira was – just like everyone else – staring down the shaft where the cable had just vanished, as Rose yelled, "But we've _got_ to bring them back!"

Mira shot her a short glance, before asking Jefferson, "Do you have more cable?"

"Not another ten miles," he answered, confirming her fears. So, there was no way to get down there. While she was still thinking about what unpleasantly few possibilities they had left, a loud bang on the door made not only her, but also everyone else, jump. The Ood.

"Captain? Situation report," Jefferson said into his comm.

"It's the Ood. They're cutting through the door bolts. They're breaking in!" Zach replied. He was still in the control room and must have been pretty much cut off, with the Ood everywhere in the base.

"Yeah, it's the same on Door 25," Jefferson told him.

"How long's it gonna take?" Rose asked. Well, at least she was keeping a cool head, for now.

"Well, it's only a basic frame, it should take ten minutes," Jefferson said, just as another bang came from the door. "Eight."

"I've got a security frame, it might last a bit longer, but that doesn't help you," Zach said.

If the Ood would be able to get into the control room, Zach would be lost, that was pretty clear to Mira. Even with him, who knew how to handle the controls, would it be easy for them to open the airlocks and let all the air out, or would they have to do something else? The possibilities for misery were almost infinite in their situation.

"Right. So, we need to stop them, get out, or both," Rose said. Mira chose not to interfere, since right then Rose was doing what she herself would have done.

"I'll take both, yeah? But how?" Danny asked, obviously scared.

"You heard the Doctor. Why do you think that thing cut him off? 'Cos he was making sense. He was telling you to think your way out of this. Come on! For a start, we need some lights. There's gotta be some sort of power somewhere," Rose said.

"There's nothing I can do. Some captain, stuck in here pressing buttons," Zach replied defeated.

"Then you probably should start doing so. Reroute energy, find some emergency power supplies, you must have something like that here. This is a deep space base, not some tourist station in Earth's orbit!" Mira tried to motivate him. They didn't have time for resignation right now.

"They've gutted the generators," Zach exclaimed, and, after a split second, this time with more hope, "but the rocket's got an independent supply. If I could reroute that…Mr. Jefferson? Open the bypass conduits. Override the safety…"

"Opening bypass conduits, sir."

"Channeling rocket feed. In 3…2…1…power."

Just as he had said it, the lights went on again. At least there was something. Humans seemed to have an inherent fear of the dark, no matter if they were on a space station or in an old 'haunted' house on Earth. It had taken herself some time to overcome this fear when she had been younger, and even now she couldn't help but still remember the feeling that had made her turn around when she had been alone in the dark: the feeling of being watched by things creeping in the corners and shadows. This distinct tickling on the back of one's neck that tells that one wasn't as alone as they thought.

"There we go!" Rose exclaimed and made Mira almost jump. She had been completely lost in thought for a moment. What was going on? Was it the Beast, this thing in her head, trying to frighten her? She took a quick look around, but everyone else seemed to be unaware. Well, Toby was still behaving a bit weird, but she wasn't sure if he was still influenced or if Satan was looking for another victim by now.

"Let there be light!" Danny added, almost cheerfully.

"What about that Strategy Nine thing?" Rose wanted to know.

"There won't be a Strategy Nine," Mira said, before Jefferson could answer. She wouldn't be responsible for fifty dead Ood, who were victims as well. Plus, she feared that maybe this entity would fully concentrate on them if the Ood were no longer useful.

Jefferson looked at her for a long moment, and suddenly she knew that the little trust he might have had in her was gone now. Not only had she questioned his authority twice, but she also had a different opinion on how to handle the Ood.

There wouldn't be a slaughter here, as long as she could prevent it.

"Not enough power. It needs a hundred percent," he eventually said to Rose, without taking his eyes off Mira.

"All right, we need a way out. Zach, Mr. Jefferson, you start working on that," Rose ordered, seemingly unaware of what was going on between Jefferson and Mira, but she knew that Rose had seen it, had seen the distrust. Deep beneath all the emotions caused by the recent events, she could still sense how jealous, hostile, and determined the girl was.

"Toby, what about you?" Rose asked as she approached him.

"I'm not a soldier. I can't do anything," he answered shyly. There was still something about him, Mira was certain now, even though he might not have been under the Beast's influence any longer. Well, it wouldn't do any good to tell the others, for Jefferson was a bit quick with his gun. She couldn't do anything to free Toby once and for all, and could do even less to make sure that no one else would be possessed after that. It was better to not spread any more panic.

Suddenly, her head was filled with the evil laughter of the Beast and she could see its ugly, horned head in her mind's eye. It only lasted for a few seconds, yet she hardly managed not to wince. Maybe she had wavered a bit. Thankfully, the others had been distracted, more or less. She drew a deep breath and then tried to concentrate on Toby again, with little success. It was concerning, to put it mildly, that the Beast was still able to get into her head that easily.

Meanwhile, Rose had turned to Danny, "As for you, Danny-boy – you're in charge of the Ood – any way of stopping them?"

"Well…I don't know."

"Then find out. The sooner we get control of the base, the sooner we can get the Doctor out. Shift," she ordered, and smacked him playfully.

The next moment, they were all doing their best. Danny and Jefferson were on the computer terminal, Toby was trying to decipher the symbols, and all of them were occasionally interrupted by a bang as the Ood snapped another bolt from the door.

"There's all sorts of viruses that could stop the Ood. Trouble is, we haven't got them on board," Danny said, turning around to Rose and Mira.

"Well, that's handy, listing all the things we haven't got. We haven't got a swimming pool either. Or a Tescos," Rose forestalled Mira.

Mira didn't mind, as long as Rose was thinking she was ahead of her; it would hopefully stop her from doing something stupid. Suddenly the computer beeped, the word 'Affirmative' flashing on the screen.

"Oh my God. It says yes! I can do it! Hypothetically, if you flip the monitor, broadcast a flare... it can disrupt the telepathy! Brainstorm!" Danny said in excitement. Mira looked at him. That was actually a really good idea. Way better than Strategy Nine. Not exactly pleasant, and she hoped she wouldn't be influenced, but at least the Ood would survive.

"What happens to the Ood?" Rose wanted to know.

"It'll tank them, spark out!" Danny said.

"There we are, then! Do it!" Rose said cheerfully.

Suddenly, Danny's face fell, "No, but…" he looked up from the screen, "I'd have to transmit from the central monitor. We need to go to Ood Habitation."

"Well, no point in staying here," Mira said as another bolt on the door cracked. "Jefferson, any way out yet?"

"Just about…there's a network of maintenance tunnels running underneath the base. We should be able to gain access from here."

"Ventilation shafts?" Mira asked.

"Yeah, I appreciate the reference, but there's no ventilation. No air, in fact, at all. They were designed for machines, not life forms."

Another bang sounded from the door. How many more bolts were left? Couldn't have been many…

"Shit."

"But – I can manipulate the oxygen field from here. Create discrete pockets of atmosphere. If I control it manually…I can follow you through the network," Zach said over the comm., just as Mira was considering that maybe they really had to try and fight their way to Ood Habitation.

"Right, so, we go down, and you make the air follow us. By hand," Mira asked.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll see exactly where you are, at any time."

"Fine. We need to get to Ood Habitation somehow. Work out a route."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

They had made it out of the capsule in time. Unfortunately, the comm.-link seemed to be down, but there was nothing he could do about that now. "How much air have we got?" the Doctor asked as he brushed off the dust.

"Sixty minutes," Ida said, and, after checking her wrist-device, she added, "Fifty-five."

He frowned. He would have hoped for more. Here they were. Cable gone, no way up, the situation up there in the base – well, to put it lightly – difficult, no way out and air for only fifty-five minutes.

"We've got all this cable – we might as well use it. The drum's disconnected…we could adapt it," Ida said and started to gather the fallen cable, "feed it through. "

"And then what?"

"Abseil. Into the pit."

"Abseil. Right." Why hadn't he thought about that? On the other hand, she was human. Always pressing forward.

"We're running out of air with no way back. It's the only thing we can do, even if it's the last thing we ever achieve."

He looked at her for a moment. She was right. But there was something else…something that had stopped him before.

"I'll get back. Mira is up there. And Rose," he said.

"Well, maybe the key to that is finding out what's in the pit."

"Well…it's half of a good plan," he said. He knew that there was no way up right now. Ida was totally right. Well, not entirely.

"What's the other half?"

"I go down. Not you." He had expected her to object, but after a moment of observing him, she nodded. The next minutes they spent gathering and securing the cable.

"That should hold it. How's it going?" Ida said, as they were finished.

"Fine! Should work…doesn't feel like such a good idea, now," he answered, after pulling on the cable and testing the winch.

"Ha…there it is again. That itch," he said as he was standing on the edge of the pit. "Go down, go down, go down, go down, go down."

"The urge to jump. Do you know where it comes from, that sensation? Genetic heritage. Ever since we were primates in the trees. It's our body's way of testing us. Calculating whether or not we can reach the next branch," Ida said, looking down now as well.

"No, that's not it…that's too kind," he said thoughtfully. Someone with acrophobia had told him once, that he wasn't afraid of the height, or afraid of falling. It was the urge to fall that scared him, the fear of losing control, wanting to fall. He turned around to Ida and continued, "It's not the urge to jump, it's deeper than that. It's the urge to fall!"

Right as he was finished, he jumped backwards into the hole.

 _Now or never._

"Doctor!" he heard Ida shout, and then his fall suddenly stopped as she had stopped the winch. "Are you okay?"

Okay, it had been a bit unfair to not warn her. "Not bad, thanks. The wall of the pit…seems to be the same as the cavern; just…" he shone down with his torch, "not much of it. There's a crust about twenty feet down and then…nothing, just the pit. Okay, then. Lower me down."

"Well, here we go, then," Ida said and started to lower him down further into the pit.

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

They were almost ready to enter the maintenance tunnels; only Danny was still at the computer.

"Danny!" Rose shouted.

"Hold on! Just conforming…" he said.

"Dan, you gotta go NOW!" Jefferson fell in. "Come on!"

"Yeah!" Danny yelled as the computer beeped. At that very moment, another bang came from the door, sending sparks flying around. Rose turned her head. They must have had to be almost through, she was thinking. Although she wouldn't admit it to anyone else, the Ood were frightening her; not because they were looking so foreign, but because of the red-eye-thing and how quickly they had killed one of the staff right in front of her eyes. As she turned her head around again, Danny took an orange looking computer chip from the console, and then hurried over to them.

"Put that in the monitor…and it's a bad time to be an Ood!" he said, showing them the chip.

"We're coming back. Have you got that? We're coming back to this room and we're getting the Doctor out," she suddenly said. She had to. She couldn't stop herself. The panic that was lurking in a corner of her mind had taken over her for a moment, and she was afraid that everybody could hear it in her shaky voice. She looked around. Everyone's eyes were resting on her for a moment, before Jefferson said, "Okay, Danny, you go first, then you Miss Tyler, then Toby, and Miss Rhodan. I'll go last in defence of position. Now, come on! Quick as you can!"

They all lowered themselves into the tunnels. She was landing next to Danny. It was a maintenance tunnel, just as she had expected it. But…

"God, it stinks. You all right?" she said to Danny.

"Yeah, I'm laughing," he replied just as Toby landed beside them. Behind him came Mira and Jefferson. He didn't seem to like her either, and Rose didn't wonder why he obviously wanted to keep an eye on her and have her next to him.

"Which way do we go?" Danny asked Zach.

"Just go straight ahead. Keep going 'til I say so." They began to move, and Rose could hear that the Ood must have broken to the door. That had been just in time.

"Not your best angle, Danny," she said to the man in front of her with a smirk, after she had been crawling behind him for a while.

"Oi! Stop it!"

"I dunno, it could be worse." That had been Toby, who was directly behind her.

"Oi!"

"Straight along until you find junction 7.1. Keep breathing. I'm feeding you air. I've got you," Zach continued in guiding them.

By the time they reached the junction, they were all breathing heavily. It was more exhausting than Rose would have expected it. Well, Mira didn't seem to be overly exhausted, she noticed with a hint of envy.

"We're at 7.1, Sir," Danny told Zach.

"Okay, I've got you…" she heard Zach's voice over the comm. "I'm just aerating the next section."

"Getting kinda cramped, sir…can't you hurry up?" Danny urged him.

"I'm working on half power, here."

"Stop complaining," Jefferson said from behind.

"Mr. Jefferson says 'stop complaining'," Rose passed it on, half-serious.

"I heard."

"He heard." She said back to Jefferson.

"But the air's getting a bit thin," Toby told Zach over the comm.

"HE'S complaining now," Rose said.

"Could you all just shut it? Talking won't give us more air." That was Mira. Her voice didn't sound as harsh as her words, and, hell, she was probably right, but nevertheless, she could just shut it herself. Fine, the air was really getting thinner, and…Uh.

"Danny, is that you?" she asked.

"I'm not exactly happy," he replied in defence.

"I'm just moving the air…" Zach announced. "I've got to oxygenate the next section. Now, keep calm…or it's gonna feel worse."

They were harshly interrupted by a loud bang from the other end of the tunnel. Rose looked back and saw how Jefferson aimed his gun.

"What was that?" Danny asked alarmed.

"Mr. Jefferson, what was that?" Rose yelled to the rear end of their little group.

"What's that noise?" Toby fell in as well. Only Mira remained silent, almost giving the impression as if she was listening to something. What was she doing now?

"Captain…what was that?" Jefferson finally asked.

"The junction in Habitation Five's been opened – it must be the Ood." And, after a short break, "They're in the tunnels!"

"Well, open the gate!" That had been Danny.

"I've gotta get the air in!"

"Just open it!" Danny yelled, followed by, " …Sir."

"Where are they? Are they close?" Rose wanted to know.

"Don't know, I can't tell – I can't see them... the computer doesn't register Ood as proper life forms."

"Whose idea was that?"

"They're relatively close," Mira said.

" _Open the gate!_ " Danny cried into the comm., sweating and shivering. Finally the gate opened, and they rushed through it.

"Danny, turn left. Immediate left," Zach said.

"The Ood, sir – can't you trap them? Cut off the air?" Jefferson asked, as they were crawling further through the corridor.

"Not without cutting off yours."

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

The Ood were close behind them; she could feel their presence. Maybe she would be able to hold them back by breaking the influence the Beast had over them, but that would be a bit difficult, crawling through these tunnels, being overwhelmed by everyone's panic. She wasn't exactly in the best condition to concentrate long enough on the task.

"Danny, turn right. Go right! Go fast, Dan – they're gonna catch up!" Zach told.

"I'll maintain defence of position!" Jefferson suddenly said from behind her.

"You can't stop!" Rose yelled.

"Miss Tyler – that's my job. You've got your task, now see to it."

"Jefferson, don't be stupid. Go, and let me stop them," Mira said.

"Oh, and how wou-"

"Shut it. Do as I say, just this once." She said gravely and looked at him intently, hoping that he would come to a decision within the next second. He glanced back at her, and she could see the expression on his face change. She didn't know what it was, but suddenly he nodded.

"Stay with them. They'll probably need you at Ood Habitation," she said quietly, and he finally moved past her.

"You heard what he said, now _shift_ ," Jefferson told the group, and they moved on. She looked after them as they turned around a corner. A second later, the first Ood appeared from around the corridor.

She had no intention to sacrifice herself, and she was very well aware of the danger she put herself into, but, on the other hand, she'd had enough of killing the Ood. And maybe she also wanted to prove a point to the _Satan_.

She had no doubt that she would be able to interfere with his psychic energy; the only question was, if she was strong enough. It was basically a bit like the superposition principle in physics. Two waves of the same wavelength but opposite oscillation would annul each other, if they both had the same amplitude, meaning the same strength. That was the only thing she was worrying about as she stared at the approaching Ood. She could clearly feel how strong the influence the Beast had over them was, and, for a moment, she thought if it had really been such a good idea to stay behind. She shoved it aside and concentrated even harder. She was quite powerful and she knew it. She just had to focus. By now she was shivering with strain and she could feel cold sweat on her face. The Ood were still approaching. As a stinging pain shot through her head, she almost believed she had overestimated herself, but, suddenly, the Ood stopped and grabbed their heads. She observed them carefully, not letting up in her effort. Just as she was about to turn around and seek refuge in flight, the first Ood looked up again. His eyes were back to normal, no more red glowing, and they all seemed to be rather confused by now.

She had managed it. She had no idea how long she would be able to keep up her focus, but it would be more than enough if they all got through the next gate.

She didn't hesitate for one more second, turned around and crawled through the corridor as fast as she could.

"MIRA!" she heard Jefferson yell. She turned around the corner and saw them in front of the open gate.

"I can't keep it open for much longer!" That was Zach over the comm. Funny. Had he ever tried to crawl quickly through a corridor like that? Trying to stop some rabid Ood at the same time?

"Hurry!" Jefferson urged. What, now he was worrying about her? Thankfully, she only had to crawl straight ahead, because her vision had gotten a bit blurred by now. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her by the arms and pull her forward.

"Ouch!" she said as her knees made rather painful contact with the grating of the floor.

"Close the gate!" Jefferson shouted into his comm. The gate slammed shut, and she let out a gasp of relief. Well, there really wasn't any reason for relief; she had only stopped the Ood for a short while. It would only work within a certain radius, and she wasn't able to keep it up for much longer. At least now there was another gate between the Ood and them.

"You're all in? Good, then I'll remove the oxygen now from the last section," Zach said.

"What?! NO!" Mira cried. He couldn't do that.

"Can you make sure that they won't follow us? What have you done anyway? Talked to them?" Jefferson asked.

"What? You're conspiring with them now?" Rose asked, instantly followed by Danny.

"You did what?"

"No, of course I didn't _talk_ to them."

"Doesn't matter," Zach said, "We need the air. Sorry."

Mira sat down, leaning against the wall. Right now, she felt like crying out of frustration. It had all been in vain. They would die anyway; she had given the Beast a hint of her strength, and for what? She sniffed, opened her eyes again and looked directly into Toby's face. "You alright? You're bleeding."

"What?" She sniffed again and touched the skin right under her nose, where she could feel something wet running over her face. She looked at her fingers and saw the blood. Great. Not much, but… "I'm fine. Let's move." Suddenly, there was the image of the Beast laughing again in her head, and something more – a glimpse of the things to come, a hint of his plans, yet not enough to understand them. With it came the certainty that she wouldn't be able to stop him; at least, that was what he wanted her to believe. If she had needed a final bit of proof that he was playing with her, now she was getting it. He probably had even calculated that the Ood would die anyway. He still had enough of them left for his plans.

They moved on in their original formation.

"Zach…we're at the final junction. 9.2," Danny reported.

"Opening 9.2."

The gate opened, revealing more Ood on the other side. Mira was completely caught off guard. How had he managed to disguise them from her?

"Lower 9.2. Zach, lower it!" Rose yelled.

"Back! Back! Back!" Danny shouted as they were already retreating.

"We can't go back! The gang point's sealed off, we're stuck!" Toby said.

"Come on!" Rose yelled while pushing a grilling above her head out of the way, and emerged through the floor of the corridor above with Danny at her heals. Mira pulled herself up, holding out a hand for Toby, who was still standing in the corridor, watching the approaching Ood as if hypnotised.

"Toby, get your arse up here!" she yelled, and she could see Jefferson pulling at his arm. She eyed him closer. No, he wasn't hypnotised. There was something else going on with him. Suddenly he turned around, visibly panicking from one moment to the next, and reached for her hand. "Help me!" he suddenly yelled. As soon as he was up, Jefferson followed and Mira slammed the grill back in place.

"It's this way," Danny announced, and they all followed him.

"Hurry up!" Zach urged over the comm. Finally they reached Ood Habitation. Danny immediately rushed over to the computer. There were already Ood inside, looking up at their arrival.

"Get it in!" Rose yelled, and Danny inserted the chip into the computer.

"Transmit!" Rose was trying to hurry Danny.

"I'm trying, I'm trying! I'm getting at it…"

"Stop them!" Toby cried.

"Danny, get that thing transmitting!"

Danny finally hit a button, and the reading on the screen went down to Basic zero. The Ood clutched at their heads and stumbled about, before finally collapsing to the floor. Mira had braced herself, but since she had expected it, she wasn't influenced. Well, the experience in the corridor had been enough anyway, if it was for her. On the other hand, when had it ever been to her liking? At least her nose had stopped bleeding, leaving only the stinging headache.

"You did it! We did it!" Rose yelled overjoyed.

The next moment Rose was hugging Danny, then Toby and at last Jefferson. They were all hugging each other, except for Mira. Well, she wasn't that much into all the hugging anyway, and at least it was honest from Rose, not to hug her.

"Zach, we did it. The Ood are down. Now, we've gotta get the Doctor!" Rose finally said into the comm.

* * *

 _Thanks at Lucifae for beta-reading :-)_

 _Quasi-Stellar: I think the Timelords might have actually known. But I guess it might have been in some archive on Gallifrey, so no chance for the Doctor to know right now. And, besides that, she´s not from a rather close parallel world as Pete´s World, but from a whole different universe. So, maybe they didn´t know at all. I guess both is possible :-)_

 _Crimson Songstress, Jesse Wales, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, bored411, AxidentlGoddess, oXxgerogiaxXo: Thanks for reviewing :-)_


	34. Chapter 34 - The Satan Pit Pt 3

**Chapter XXXIV**

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor was still being lowered down into the pit. Beneath him was nothing but complete darkness. He really wondered how far it would go. Surely not endlessly, for the size of the planet was finite.

"You get representations of the Horned Beast right across the universe. In the myths and legends of a million worlds. Earth... Draconia, Velconsadine... Daemos... the Kaled God of War... it's the same image, over and over again. Maybe... that idea came from somewhere. Bleeding through... the thought at the back of every sentient mind," he said to Ida, mainly to distract himself, but also to hear Ida's voice in return – before the feeling of loneliness could overwhelm him.

"Emanating from here?" he heard his voice over the speakers in his helmet.

"Could be."

"But if this is the original... does that make it real? Does that make it the actual devil, though?"

"Well, if that's what you want to believe. Maybe that's what the devil is, in the end. An idea. Mira said something like that." Indeed she had. They both had heard it down here. He had also heard what the beast had accused her of. Destroyer of the stars? What did that mean? Suddenly his decent stopped.

"That's it. That's all we've got," Ida explained. "You getting any sort of readout?"

"Nothing. Could be miles to go, yet. Or... could be thirty feet. No way of telling." He looked down, but, of course, couldn't see anything. "I could survive thirty feet."

"Oh no you don't. I'm pulling you back up." At the same moment, he was lifted back up, but fortunately he could as well operate the winch from down here, and stopped it.

"What're you doing?!" Ida wanted to know.

"You bring me back, then we're just gonna sit there and run out of air. I've gotta go down."

"But you can't. Doctor, you can't." He could hear the fear in her voice now. And she wasn't the only one. He was afraid as well. Maybe falling down there was the last thing he would ever do. And if not, then he would die of a lack of oxygen soon enough. Would this really be the end? He had often been in situations like that, and had always found a way out. What if this time he didn't?

"Call it an act of faith," he said eventually in an attempt to reassure Ida – and himself. Then he started to release one of the hooks which were securing him to the cable.

"But... I don't want to die on my own."

"I know," he replied gently and released another hook. Faith. In what did they believe? Not only Ida, but also Rose and Mira. He had never asked them. Well, he only knew Mira for a short while, but he even hadn't found time to ask Rose. Now he probably would never find out. Most likely she believed in some sort of god. But what about Mira? After everything she must have seen, could she still believe in anything? Surely she did believe in honesty. And hope. And in never giving up. Well, that was at least something to start with, wasn't it?

"I didn't ask - have you got any sort of faith, or...?" he finally asked Ida.

"Not really. I was brought up Neo Classic, congregational... because of my mum, she was...," she replied, "My old mum. But no, I never believed."

"Neo Classic - have they got a devil?"

"No, not as such. Just um... the things that men do."

"Same thing in the end."

"What about you?"

He paused for a moment whilst he was thinking about it. Good question. When had he thought about that the last time?

"I believe... I believe I haven't seen everything, I don't know... it's funny, isn't it? The things you make up - the rules. If that thing had said it came from _beyond_ the universe, I'd believe it, but _before_ the universe... impossible. Doesn't fit my rule. Still, that's why I keep travelling. To be proved wrong. Thank you, Ida."

"Don't go!" Ida said in an urgent voice.

So, this was it, probably the last and final moments of his life. He just wished he would see them again. See _her_ again. Wished that he could tell her how much she meant to him already. If he only _could_ tell her. He doubted that he would be able to do so.

"If they get back in touch... if you talk to Mira... just tell her...," he started to say. Oh hell, why did this had to be so hard? "Tell her I...," he continued after he had stared into the pit for a few moments. "Oh, maybe she already knows. Or she doesn't want to know, after what I've done to her." With this said, he released the last hook and fell into the darkness.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira rushed with the others back to the exploration deck. Once their, she grabbed the mic and said, "Doctor? Are you there? Doctor? Ida? Can you hear me?"

No response. Zach, who had reached the exploration deck as well, said, "The comms are still down. I can patch them through the central desk and boost the signal. Just give me a minute." He started to work at the computer. When he was finished, she tried it again, "Doctor? Ida? Report!"

"He's gone," Ida said finally.

"What do you mean, "he's gone"?", Rose, who was standing next to her, asked.

"He fell. Into the pit. And I don't know how deep it is - miles and miles and miles."

"Fell? How could he 'fell' into the pit?" Mira asked in disbelief.

"I couldn't stop him. He said your name..."

He did what? She could hardly believe it. Why would he do that? And only her name, nothing else?

 _When you're just thinking it can't get any worse..._

She looked at Rose. The girl stared back with a dangerous mix of grief and open hate on her face. Mira realised that it would only be a matter of time until Rose would finally snap. She could physically feel how much on edge the girl was. As she tried to figure out what Rose could probably do, Zach took the mic from her. What did she mean, he had fallen? Why would he do that? Surely not to jump into his certain death. Did he has a plan? And if so, what had it been?

"I'm sorry," he said, but Rose didn't respond. She was just staring, now into space, but the expression on her face hadn't changed.

"Ida? There's no way of reaching you," Zach said into the comm. "No cable, no back-up... you're ten miles down... We can't get there."

"You should see this place, Zach," Ida said into the silence that had fallen over the exploration deck. "It's beautiful. Well, I wanted to discover things... And here I am."

"We've got to abandon the base," Zach said quietly. "I'm declaring this mission unsafe. All we can do is make sure no one ever comes here again."

Mira just looked at him. No. They couldn't leave. Making sure that no one ever comes back wasn't enough.

"But we'll never find out what it was?" Ida wanted to know.

"Well, maybe that's best."

"Yeah," Ida said, and Mira could clearly hear in her voice, in this one single word, that she was fully aware of the consequences for her.

"Officer Scott-"

"It's all right. Just go. Good luck."

"Thank you," Zach said and put the mic back in its place. Mira was still looking at him, and hated herself for what she had to do, for what she had to tell him. She knew exactly how hard it was for him to even leave Ida behind.

"Danny - Toby - close down the feed links. Get the retrotopes online. Then get to the rocket - strap yourselves in. We're leaving," he said.

"Zach? A word," she said. He looked at her and she could see the struggle in his face. Basically, there wasn't time for further talking, and so she urged, "It's important."

"Fine."

She walked a few steps away from the others, Zach following her.

"Zach, I'm sorry. But I'm afraid we can't leave."

"What!? Why?" He stared at her in disbelief. "Is it because of the Doctor? I'm sorry, but we can't do anything for him. Neither for Ida. He's most likely dead, if he fell into the pit."

"He's not dead!" That was Rose. Mira hadn't realised that she had approached them.

"Rose, please...," she tried to calm her down, and then added, before Rose got the chance to say anything, "It's not about Ida or the Doctor. It's about this beast, whatever it is. It wants to escape. You've heard it. And with us leaving we're giving it the perfect opportunity. It got locked away ages ago, and probably for a good reason. I don't think we should risk setting it free."

"What? Are you nu-"

"Rose, not now!" Zach interrupted her. "So, you're saying we should stay on a planet that's about to fall into a black-hole, because this thing could _maybe_ escape with us?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. And I think you know that I'm right. You volunteered for this mission, and surely you did know that it wasn't supposed to be a holiday-trip." She observed him closely. He wasn't facing an easy decision; she of all people knew that. But she also knew that this was probably the price everyone had to pay for venturing out into space. Space was inherently deadly, always. No matter how secure it seemed to be aboard a space station or even one of the great battle-ships of the Fleet, it was always only a thin hull separating them from certain death, may it come with loss of oxygen, superior aggressors, or even from within like it was now the case with the Beast and the Ood.

"It's only your fault!" Rose suddenly shouted at her. "He was right. You knew that all this would happen!" Her face was distorted with anger, and tears were streaming out of her eyes. "And now he's dead because of you! And now you want to kill us all!" The next moment she was outright jumping at Mira, but Zach managed to hold her back.

"Rose, stop it!"

Rose struggled a few moments longer in his grip, then indeed stopped in her attempts, but Zach didn't let go of her yet.

"You did know that this would happen?" Jefferson asked in disbelief. He had overheard everything that Rose had said, it had been loud enough. By now, Danny and Toby were also standing around them. Great. Not.

"No I didn't, I-"

"She knew! He got angry at her the other day just because of that. And he was right. That was why you wanted him down there!" Rose spat at her.

"Why would I do that?"

"Is that true?" Jefferson asked, more distrusting than ever before. Right now, the base shook again violently.

"Yeah, I don't think we have time for that now...," Zach said as the ground had stopped shaking, and finally let go of Rose.

"We can't leave!" She tried it again. She had to keep on trying, even though she still had no clear idea about the Beast's plan.

"Maybe you should stay? You're possessed, aren't you? Or how did you stop the Ood?" Rose yelled.

Mira noticed out of the corner of her eye how Jefferson aimed is gun at her.

"What?! Has everyone gone mad now?" Zach said.

"Uhm..." All heads flung around to Toby. "I guess Rose's right. I've seen its plans in my head."

"Oh for God's sake! It can take over everyone! Don't you see it?" Mira asked. Hadn't Toby's eyes been red a second ago? Had the others not seen it?

"So you're saying we should leave her behind?" Zach asked Toby, and he nodded.

"Yeah. She's gotten us into all this in the first place!" Rose said, still crying.

"I say she stays," Jefferson said.

Only Danny remained silent. Right now, the Beast laughed in her head, louder than ever before, making her wince and instinctively cover her ears.

"See?" Rose yelled almost hysterically now.

Suddenly she saw it. The Beast would leave with Toby. That had been its plan from the beginning. She had lost. The Beast had tricked and manipulated them, the Doctor was missing down in the pit somewhere, with just enough air for probably an hour, and now it was ready to escape into the universe once more.

"I have lost too many people. I am not leaving anyone behind," Zach said, but she could feel that he was far from being convinced by his own words.

"Zach, I've seen it. She's some sort of psychic, the Beast had only waited for someone like her!", Toby said, but no one – aside from her – saw the sardonic smile on his face, because they were all staring at her. There was no need for the Beast for leaving her behind – it was only out of its cruelty and for its triumph of victory.

"Mira?" Zach said to her.

She just shrugged. What could she say now? They wouldn't believe her. It was over. And yet, it didn't _feel_ like that. She wouldn't die here, it wasn't over yet. Or maybe it was only nature's way of showing her kindness, and didn't let her foresee her own death.

"I stay. And so should you."

"Let's go, Zach!" Jefferson urged.

Zach took a long look at her and finally nodded. He didn't make that decision lightly, she could see that.

"Have an eye on Toby," she said quietly. There was no answer, and the next moment they hurried out.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

As he came round, he found himself lying on the floor. It was quite uncomfortable, but there was another, highly disturbing sensation. The glass of his helmet was gone. Of course he couldn't feel that, not really at least. But it was a difference if there was a closed helmet in front of ones nose or not. His hand flew to his mouth, confirming his fears. But then, why...

"I'm breathing," he wondered. Air. Down here, where ever he was, was air. He stood up and removed the helmet. At least he was unharmed, although it had been quite a fall.

"Air cushion to support the fall..."

He turned the comm on, and said to Ida, "You can breath down here, Ida." He listened to the comm for a while, but there was only statics. "Can you hear me, Ida?" Nothing. He walked a few feet as he heard the sound of something big. Something lifting off. The rocket. He turned his head up and saw it. So they had managed to escape, at least as long as the gravity-funnel would remain stable.

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

Rose didn't want to leave and she didn't want to belief that she had really lost him. That couldn't be true. Surely she was in her room in the TARDIS, only having a very bad dream. She would wake up soon enough, go to the console room and there he would be. But at the same time she knew how very real her situation was. She was running along a corridor with the others, just as the Ood started to open their eyes. Red eyes.

"Did that one just move?" Toby asked and pointed at one of them.

"The telepathic field - it's reasserting itself," Danny yelled.

"Move it - get to the rocket – move!" Zach shouted.

Well, at least Mira had finally gotten what she deserved. If the Ood didn't get her, she would fell together with this whole dammed planet into the black-hole.

 _Just like the Doctor._

She felt like braking down from all the pain she was feeling now, but Toby took her by the arm and pulled her with him.

Finally, the reached the rocket, got in and fastened the seatbelts.

"We should wait. Maybe he'll-"

"Rose, I'm sorry, but he won't come back," Danny told her sympathetically.

How could he now? He didn't know him.

"Dislocating B-Clamp - C-Clamp - raising blue nitrates to maximum - Toby, how's the negapact feed line?" Zach said, sitting in the front seat.

"Clear! Ready to go, sir. For God's sakes, get us out of here!" Toby replied.

"And... lift-off!"

She could feel how she was pressed into her seat as the rocket lifted off. It shook like crazy and the sound of the engines roared in her ears. But she almost didn't notice it. Her thoughts were with the Doctor. Surely he would somehow pop up here any second, wouldn't he? As he always did. Hug her, telling her that everything was alright again.

Then, the silent laughing of Toby reached her ear. Irritatedly she turned her head, and Danny asked, "What's the joke?"

"Just... we made it. We escaped. We actually did it."

"Not all of us," Rose said, her voice thick with tears.

"We're not out of it yet. We're still the first people in history to fly _away_ from a black hole. Toby, read me the stats," Zach said.

"Gravity funnel holding, sir. Always holding," Toby replied, still having this almost disgusting smirk on his face.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

By now the Doctor had reached an underground cavern. Not as huge as the other one, but still impressive. The walls were covered in drawings of a horned beast and tiny stick figures. They surrounded the beast, but he wasn't entirely sure what they were doing. On the other hand, it was clear that they were fighting it. But who had started? Was it even important?

"History of some big battle. Man against Beast. I dunno if you're getting this, Ida. Hope so. Anyway, they defeated the Beast and imprisoned it."

The shone the light of his torch around and saw a large vase on a stand.

 _Wait..._

He spun around and turned the torch light back on the wall. There were people carrying the vase on their heads. The exact same vase. He walked over to it – the real one, not the image – and could see a second one on a stand just next to it.

"Or maybe that's the key..." He touched one of the vases, and both lid up.

"Or the gate, or the bars...," he continued. By now he was sure that Ida couldn't hear him, although it could still be possible that only the receiver of his comm was damaged. But he had to talk to someone, even if he was only pretending that Ida could hear him.

Suddenly a quiet growl pulled him out of his thoughts, making him almost jump. It came directly from in front of him, and as he looked up, he saw it. The Beast. Huge and horned, chained down in a pit. Now it was roaring at him, pulling at his chains, which were short enough that it couldn't reach him.

He stared at it for a moment, before saying, "I accept that you exist. I don't have to accept what you are, but you're physical existence, I'll give you that." Well, there wasn't much he could do, for it was clear to see that it actually existed. It growled at him again, and he took a few steps forward.

"But I don't understand. I was _expected_ down here. I was given a safe landing, and air. You need me for something. What for?"

The Beast didn't answer but lunged forward, leaning heavy into the chains.

"Have I got to... I dunno, beg an audience? Or... is there a ritual? Some sort of incantation or summons or spell - all these things I don't believe in - are they real?" he asked, completely out of his depth. The Beast just kept staring at him.

"Speak to me! Tell me!" he yelled. No reply.

"You won't talk. Or... you _can't_ talk. Hold on, hold on. Wait a minute, just let me...," he said, and walked a few steps whilst thinking.

"Oh! No. Yes! No... think it through, you _spoke_ before. I heard your voice. An intelligent voice. No, more than that - brilliant! But, looking at you now... all I can see...is...," he was interrupted by a growl of the Beast, "Beast. The animal. Just... the body. You're just the body, the physical form! What's happened to your mind? Hmm? Where's it gone? Where's that intelligence?" He glanced upwards and it finally dawned on him.

"Oh, no..."

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira didn't stay for too long on the exploration deck, because she had noticed as well that the Ood were regaining consciousness. But where should she go? The Ood were all over the base, and locking the doors hadn't proven successful earlier. What should she do anyway? The rocket was would soon be off, she couldn't get down – so the only thing left was to defend her live against the Ood until she the planet would brake apart under her feet.

She heard how the rocket launched as she was hurrying through the corridors, searching for a place to hide. And even though she didn't believe that the Doctor was really dead – it just didn't _feel_ like that – he surely wouldn't pop up right in front of her. How would he do that anyway. Well, there was still the possibility that he had found the TARDIS, but that would be too good to be true.

Well, at least she knew what she wouldn't do – let the Ood electrocute her. She didn't believe she would be able to stop them once more, her head was still hurting like nothing good, and the blood hadn't been a good sign as well.

She ran around a corner and stopped dead with a scream. She had almost ran into a bunch of Oods, who were staring at her, the glowing orbs lifted in their hands. They were only a few feet away, and she just managed to turn around in time and heed back to were she had come from. Bad thing was, that there were Ood as well, and she hadn't passed by many doors in this particular corridor.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor looked at the symbols on the walls once more. The answer must lie in them somewhere.

"You're imprisoned. Long time ago. Before the universe, after, sideways, in-between, doesn't matter. The positioning is _perfect_. It's absolutely - it's eternal. Oh, _yes_! Open the prison - the gravity field collapses! This planet falls into the black hole! You escape, you die. _brilliant_! But that's just the body. The body is trapped, that's all. The devil is just an idea. In all those civilisations - just an idea"

Said that, he paused, walking towards the Beast again as he was thinking.

"But an idea is hard to kill. An idea could escape. The mind - the mind of the great Beast - the mind can escape! Oh, but that's it! You didn't give me air - your jailers did! They set this up! All those years ago! They need me alive. Because if you're escaping, then I've gotta stop you."

He picked up a stone and the Beast roared in fury, straining against the chains once more.

"If I destroy your prison, your body is destroyed. Your mind with it."

He swung the stone over his head, ready to smash the first of the two vases with it, but something made him stop. He dropped the stone and said, "But then you're clever enough to use this whole system against me. If I destroy this planet, I destroy the gravity field. The rocket. The rocket loses protection and falls into the black hole. I'll have to sacrifice them all."

He looked at the Beast in disgust. Well, the crew of the base probably knew that this could be their grave. But there was also Mira, and Rose. He wasn't sure what Mira would be doing in his stead, but he could really imagine her rather sacrificing herself then letting this beast get away. But he had made a promise to bring Rose back to her mother, alive and well.

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

"Stats. at 53, funnel status at 66.5. Hull pressure constant. Smooth as we can, sir. All the way back home," Toby said, "Coordinates set for Planet Earth."

Rose was just staring out of the window. Slowly she started to realise what had happened. If she had believed she couldn't possibly feel more miserably, she was clearly proven wrong now.

"There's one thing I don't understand," Jefferson said, who was sitting in the front next to Zach, "We escaped, but there's a thousand ways it could've killed us. It basically had full control over the base. And why did Mira wanted us all to stay, if she was possessed by it?"

"Jefferson, could you do us a favour? We've escaped. Just accept that." Toby said, and then, as if nothing had been, "Almost there. We'll be beyond the reach of the black hole in 40... 39..."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

"So, that's the trap. Or the test or the final judgement, I don't know. But if I kill you, I kill them all. Not only myself, but Rose and Mira as well," he said.

The Beast laughed, just as if it did understand him.

"Except that implies - in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils - that they're just victims. But I've seen a lot of this universe. I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi gods and would-be gods - out of all that - out of that whole pantheon - if I believe in one thing... just one thing...," he said, now standing almost at the edge of the pit. Suddenly, it was all too clear. He knew that she wouldn't let him down. And not just because she was acting out of emotions as Rose had done it before, mostly without thinking of the consequences, but because she actually _was thinking_. It was out of some strange sort of loyalty that he couldn't fully understand yet. He had given her enough reason to hate him, had hurt her probably in the worst of all ways, but she still hadn't let him down. He believed Mira would try to do the right thing, whatever this would be.

"I believe in her!" And with that, he picked up the stone again and smashed the vase next to him, and then the other one.

"This is your freedom! Free to _die_. You're going into that black hole and I'm riding with you!"

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

Suddenly, the rocket shook violently.

"What happened? What was that?!" Danny said.

"What's he doing? What is he doing?" Toby murmured, almost to himself. What was going on with him?

"We've lost the funnel! Gravity collapse!" Zach said, and she could hear the panic in his voice.

"What does that mean?" Rose asked, although she almost knew it.

"We can't escape. We're headed straight for the black hole!"

"It's the planet. The planet's moving. It's falling," she said, after she had looked out of the window. Then she turned her head to Toby, and instantly she reeled backwards in shock. He stared at her out of red eyes, his face was covered with black symbols.

"I am the rage-" he said, with the voice of the Beast.

"It's Toby, Jefferson, do something-" Rose yelled.

"And the bile and the ferocity," the Beast said.

"Just do something!"

"I am the Prince and the Fall and the Darkness-"

"It's him! It's him! It's him!" Danny realised it as well.

"Stay where you are, the ship's not stable!" Zach warned them. Rose hardly trusted her eyes as a burst of flame came from Toby's mouth.

"What is he?! What the HELL is he?!" Zach yelled.

"I shall never die! The thought of me is forever! In the bleeding hearts of men - in their vanity and obsession and lust-"

Rose saw how Jefferson suddenly had a bolt gun in his hands as he turned around to them. But he wasn't pointing the gun at Toby, instead he was aiming at the window.

"Nothing shall ever destroy me. Nothing!" Toby said.

"Open his seatbelt when I say so," he said quietly to Rose.

"What?"

"Just do it," he said and fired at the front window. "NOW!"

She did as he said, and Toby was, along with the air, sucked out of the window.

"Emergency shield!" Zach yelled and pressed a button. The emergency shield was activated and covered the hole. Toby was gone, and with him – hopefully – the beast.

"Mira was right," Jefferson spoke out what she was thinking. The rest remained silent; it was an uncomfortable silence, heavy with guild and regret.

She had been right and now she had stayed back on this dammed planet. Well, that was what she had wanted, wasn't it? Didn't matter now anyway, for the rocket was still shaking, and their own escape seemed to be everything but certain.

"We've still lost the gravity funnel. We can't escape the black hole!" Zach said.

"But we stopped him. That's what the Doctor would've done."

"Some victory. We're going in."

"The planet's lost orbit! It's falling!" Danny yelled after he had looked at a screen.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She had managed to escape the Ood for some time, but now she was cornered. The last room she had entered only had one door. She had closed it, but unfortunately there had been already two Ood in this room. Well, two were better than six, but still to many. Close combat wasn't an option, one touch with their orbs and she would be history. She hadn't found a weapon, but on the other hand, she hadn't really had time to look for one. So she had tried to stop the Ood the same way she had back in the maintenance tunnels. Somehow she knew from the beginning that she wouldn't be successful this time. She managed to slow them down a bit, but she couldn't break the influence completely. Either they had gotten stronger or she was just too exhausted. Or both. Anyway, she had almost passed out whilst trying it, and now the Ood were approaching as if nothing had been. Slowly, almost as if the Beast was enjoying its final triumph. But suddenly, the Ood stopped dead and fell to the floor. At the same time, the planet under her feet shook and almost send her flying across the room.

Just as she was aiming for the door in a last, desperate attempt, knowing exactly that there was no place for her to go, she heard an all too familiar sound. Mechanically and yet strangely alive at the same time. Together with the sound her vision of the room got blurred and was replaced by the familiar, greenly lid console room of the TARDIS.

The Doctor, still in his orange space suit, was standing at the console and looked up at her, a wide smile on his face.

 _Really_?

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He had run back down the tunnel as a blast of air had knocked him off his feet, straight against some blue, wooden object.

He had turned his head and smiled in delight. He had not lost one more second, had gotten into his beloved TARDIS, had picked up Ida, who had a bit of an oxygen starvation but was fine otherwise, and was now about to head for the rocket, because by now he had realised that the gravity-funnel was gone. But the TARDIS didn't seem to agree.

"What's now, old girl?" Instead of flying after the rocket, she chose to materialise again. Seemingly back in the base. What did she want here? Then he saw her. The TARDIS materialised right around Mira, who stared at him as if she had just seen a ghost. Well, she looked a bit like one herself. White as a sheet and a small stain of dried blood under her nose.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in the rocket!" he said with a wide grin on his face, went over to her and enveloped her in a big hug. She hardly returned it, so he released her, looked at her and finally asked, "You're alright?" Well, obviously she wasn't, that was clear to see, but...

There wasn't time. The TARDIS de-materialised, resuming her previous course towards the rocket. Not without shaking and tossing around, it was all to clear that she didn't particularly like being that close to a black-hole.

"I'm fine. What about the rocket?" she asked.

"I'm on it. Just hold on to something. Maybe to that lever over there. Will stabilise our flight a bit."

"That one?"

"No, next to it... Yeah. That one."

He observed her out of the corner of his eye as they were trying to catch up with the rocket. Her movements were a bit insecure and once or twice it almost seemed as if she was about to pass out, but despite all that, she did really quite well in helping him flying the TARDIS. Not even the TARDIS herself complained, even though she had always been a bit touchy when someone other than him was trying to put their hands on her controls. He really should give her some flying lessons. But that could wait. Next thing for her would be sickbay, after he had taken care of the rocket.

Finally he had the rocket secured to his ship, turned it around and was flying away from the black-hole.

"Sorry about the hijack, Captain. This is the good ship TARDIS," he said after he had opened a comm-link. "Now, first thing's first - have you got a Rose Tyler on board?"

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

Rose couldn't believe it at first – but it had been his voice, hadn't it?

"I'm here! It's me! Oh, my God!" she yelled overjoyed, "Where are you?" Yet despite all her joy, another realisation hit her. How should she explain what had happened to Mira? She must have fallen into the black-hole together with the planet. Well, she would find something to say, it wasn't even a lie to tell him that she stayed behind voluntarily. Somehow she did.

"I'm just towing you home. Gravity-schmavity. My people practically invented black holes," the Doctor continued, "Well - in fact, they did. In a couple of minutes, we'll be nice and safe. Oh, and captain - can we do a swap? Say, if you give me Rose Tyler - I'll give you Ida Scott? How about that?"

"She's alive!" Zach exclaimed.

"YES! Thank God." Danny added, as cheerful as Zach.

"Yeah! Bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be all right."

What? Not a word about Mira? Had he already forgotten her?

"But Doctor, I... I'm sorry, but Mira, she..."

"Ah, don't worry, she's here, safe and sound. Well, more or less. I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet."

Rose could feel how all the colour went from her face for a moment. She was at the TARDIS? Oh bloody hell. That meant that she had probably already told him what had happened back at the base.

"Ah! Entering clear space - end of the line - mission closed," the Doctor pulled her out of her thoughts. Well, she would think of something. As long as Mira kept her mouth shut. But why would she do that?

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

While the Doctor was waiting for Rose after saying goodbye to Ida, he had taken off the space-suit. It was indeed a bit antique and plump, but he thought about keeping it anyway. If only for sentimental reasons.

"So, why did you stay back at the base?" he asked, but honestly, he didn't expect an answer. Something had happened, although he couldn't imagine what it might be. Right at this moment the door swung open and Rose came running in. He ran over to her and hugged each other. He was really glad to see her again, plus, he would never have forgiven himself if something had happened to her. Not to mention that he would have had to tell Jackie about it.

"Zach? We'll be off, now. Have a good trip home," he said over the comm as they had let go of each other again. "And the next time you get curious about something- oh... what's the point? You'll just go blundering in. The human race..."

"But Doctor, what did you find down there? That creature - what was it?" Ida asked.

"I don't know! Never did decipher that writing. But that's good! Day I know everything? Might as well stop. Anyway. Right, onwards, upwards - Ida - see you again, maybe!"

"I hope so! Just one more thing, Doctor: You never really said... the three of you... who are you?"

"Oh," he said and smiled, "The stuff of legend."

He closed the comm-link and they were on his way. The rocket was save now and they would make their way home without any further problems.

"What do you think it was? Really?" Rose asked after a few moments. He turned his head to her. Something was going on with her, he had seen the look she had shot Mira. Oh well. And there he had hoped that there would be at least some sort of ceasefire between them.

"I think... we beat it. That's good enough for me," he answered.

"It said I was gonna die in battle."

"It said a lot of stupid things and lies," Mira said quietly. She was standing on the opposite side of the console. Even though she had spoken to Rose, her eyes were resting on him. She still didn't look any better, but there was another thing that was really bothering him now. She had heard what the Beast had said to him. And she also knew if it had been true what it had said about herself and the others. Well, then she only had to put one and one together, to get an idea of what he had done. He just hoped she would never bring up this topic, ever.

Whilst he was thinking that, he saw how she grew even paler and her eyes lost focus. He just managed to get around the console and catch her before she hit the floor.

* * *

 _Time-twilight: I'm not sure yet, if I'll do 11. But on the other hand, it's still a long way so probably I'll decide doing him._

 _Quasi-Stellar: It's possible that the TARDIS knew that she would appear in the Doctor's universe, at least Mira didn´t send an emergency-signal, however he knew somehow where to find her ;-)_

 _bored411, d0ct0rwh0l0ckf4n, 10th Squad 3rd Seat: Thanks for your reviews :-)_


	35. Chapter 35 - At the Crossroads

**Chapter XXXV**

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor carried her to the sickbay. Rose wasn't following, but right now he didn't really care about that, for she obviously seemed to be fine. He would talk to her later.

The TARDIS had moved the door close to the console room, once again, and as soon as he arrived he put her on one of the beds.

After a quick scan he was sure that she was fine, according to the circumstances. Or at least, she would be fine again. She was absolutely exhausted, and her neurotransmitter levels were quite messed up, but that would get back to normal soon enough. Of course, he could do something to speed it up, but as she was stable by now he decided not to interfere and to give her body time to recover on it's own. She needed rest and sleep anyway. Besides, given her brain being so different from normal human brains, it was probably the safest option for now.

He covered her with a blanket and gently brushed away some loose strands of hair from her forehead. What had she done? Picked a fight with the Beast? She must have known that she wouldn't stand a chance.

After he had told the TARDIS to notify him whenever her condition changes, he went back to the console room. Rose was still there, sitting on the jump-seat. She stood up as she heard him coming and looked at him, somehow uncomfortably nestling with the sleeves of her sweater.

"How is she?" she asked.

"She will be fine, she's sleeping now."

"Oh. That's good. Really. I think I'll-"

"Rose, what happened down there?"

"Uh, you heard most of it, didn't you? The Oods were possessed, and Toby, we-"

"No, I mean to Mira. Did she get into a fight?" He observed Rose closely. Was she hiding something? She was avoiding his eyes and gave the impression that she wanted to get out of the console room as fast as possible.

"Fight? No, not really. She didn't even have a weapon..."

"That's not what I mean, Rose."

She looked up at him for a moment and seemed to shrink even more.

"Oh. Yeah, she did stop some of the Oods for a while. But don't ask me how she did it."

Well, that was basically what he had assumed. Did she really break the influence the Beast had on the Ood?

"And how did she end up staying at the base whilst you were all leaving?"

"I... I don't know? It just happened. They said you were dead, you've fallen into the pit. And then she said she would stay and... Can I go now? I'm really tired. We can talk about this later, can't we? Please."

"Fine," he sighed. Right now he wouldn't get anything out of her. As soon as he had said it, she turned around and almost fled, leaving him rather confused. Why would Mira stay on a base that was about to fall into a black-hole voluntarily?

The next hours he spent with tending to the TARDIS. She was still a bit miffed about the fall into the abyss, and about being so close to a black-hole as well. Maybe more than a bit, _quite_ miffed was probably more to the point. There wasn't much damage, just the occasional burned circuits and broken cables, but most of all she was in need of some attention.

 **...**

After a few hours – with Rose not showing up at all – he went back to the infirmary after he had grabbed some books from the library.

Mira's condition had gotten better, but she was still fast asleep. He pulled two chairs over to the bed – one for him and one for his legs – sat down and started reading. After an hour or so, she finally started to move and he put the book aside.

"Hey," he said and gently stroke her cheek, "And there I thought you would sleep for the next two days!"

He smiled at her as she finally opened her eyes and blinked at him, but she only groaned in disapproval, rolled over to her side, and pulled the blanket over her head.

"So I take it that you want to sleep on?"

Almost instantly she pulled the blanket down again, sat up and stared at him. "What the hell are you doing in my...," then she glanced around in sudden realisation, "...room. Okay. That's weird."

"What?" he asked and looked around as well. "The room looks as always."

"I have no idea how I got here. I mean, I was a bit rattled, but not enough to miss things like that."

"Sure about that? Because you passed out right at the console room."

"What?"

"You passed out. And slept for almost ten hours. Whatever you've done on Kroptor, you probably shouldn't do it again. What _have_ you done?"

"I... oh. Well, stopped some Ood," she said, sat up and put her feet on the floor. "That's basically it."

"And how did you end up staying behind?"

"Uh, happened, somehow. You know what? We talk about this later. I really need a shower and something to eat."

 _Later._

Somehow he had heard that before. Without saying another word, she left the sickbay. He ruffled his hair and then grabbed the books as he heard a rather disapproving hum from the TARDIS in his head. But, for once, it wasn't because of something _he_ had done.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She had been to her room, had taken an shower and put on new clothes. After that, she went to the observatory, because she was missing the sight of the stars above her head. Not that there were windows at her quarters on the ships of the Fleet, but there she was used to spend a lot of time in the central control room with its huge screens or – as well – at the observatory.

And even though it wasn't her universe, a fact she could still sense every waking second, it gave her at least the illusion of being a little bit less trapped. Apart from that, she loved the silence down there. Not that it actually was more quiet here than in her room, but the atmosphere there was somehow peaceful. Peaceful, quiet and timeless.

She was slouching in the corner of the couch, wrapped in the blanket, and listening to the ever present humming of the TARDIS. She was still quite exhausted, although not physically, but mentally. Even more so as she had come to realise how close it had been, down on Kroptor. Well, it had been close before in her life, but this time it would have meant to die all alone in a foreign universe. Without her friends and her father knowing what had happened to her. Well, she had survived, but Scooti was dead. And Toby, as well as the security officers, whose names she didn't even know. And the Ood. She shook her head and pulled the blanket tighter around her. How many people had died since she was travelling with the Doctor? Too many. Too many, and they all had been too young.

On the other hand, it could have gone much worse on Kroptor. At least _Satan_ didn't escape. And she herself would be fine in a day or so, and right now there weren't any evil telepaths anywhere around she had to defend herself against, nor any other mutants or psychics.

Right at this moment the door slowly opened and the Doctor peered in.

 _Well, maybe no_ evil _telepaths, but..._

"Oh, here you are!" he said cheerfully. At least he was obviously trying to sound like that, but all in all it made a rather awkward impression. Hardly surprising, considering how the last time they spent together in here went. Before he had accused her of betraying him.

"May I...?"

"Sure. It's your ship," she answered, although she would have preferred to stay alone. But, on the other hand, if that's what she had wanted, she could have stayed in her room. Not here, where _he_ would be able to find her, but not Rose. As long as the TARDIS wouldn't tell Rose, at least. But why would she? The ancient time-ship seemed to be quite fond of her by now, although Mira couldn't explain herself why. Could Rose even understand the TARDIS? Probably not. She might be aware of the fact that she was actually alive, but that's probably it.

The Doctor collapsed on the couch next to her, stretching his long legs out in front of him. For a moment they didn't say anything, just looked up to the stars.

She was just hoping he wouldn't...

"So, what happened at the base whilst I was gone? Why did you stay behind?"

 _Great._

"At the risk of repeating myself: Have you talked to Rose yet?" she asked, instead of giving him an answer.

"No... Haven't seen her. I guess she's sleeping. Why? Just tell me what happened, would you?"

"Nothing." She certainly wouldn't make it all even worse. Rose hat lost it, it had only been too understandable, and, above all, it was a thing just between her and Rose. She turned her head to him and found his endless, dark eyes resting at her. In the dim light at the observatory it almost seemed as if they were reflecting the stars above their heads. He slowly raised an eyebrow, as if it hadn't been clear enough that he wasn't buying it.

"Fine. I told them we should probably all stay, to not give the Beast a chance to escape. Of course they didn't like the idea, and so they voted. Against me. I forgot for a moment that I'm not at home, that they weren't trained members of the Fleet, and well. Shit happens. Satisfied now?"

Scepticism was still written all over his face, as he replied, "You would have stayed down there? Sacrificed yourself so that he wouldn't be able to escape? Really? Shit happens? That's it? You could have died!"

"Well, I didn't, and I certainly don't have a death-wish. Maybe we would have found another way. Hopefully. Maybe not. But sacrificing a few would have been better than setting him free again."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He wasn't satisfied at all with her explanation. There was a difference between them all staying for the sake of a greater good, and her staying behind just like that, as she had made sound it, even though he could hardly imagine that it actually had been that easy for her. On the other hand, what did he know about her? He had never met a human as old as her. And he doubted that she would come to him for help, if she needed it. Now less than ever. He still couldn't quite get the measure of her. Even someone as strong as her must be in need of help every now and then, even more so in her situation. He just wished she would talk to him, give him at least a chance to help her somehow. Or at least to show her that he wanted to be there for her, just as she had done back in 1969 at night at the launch area. Or down at the base.

Sometimes she seemed so utterly lost that it almost physically hurt him. He doubted that she was aware of it and he doubted as well that other humans would be able to see it, but he clearly did. But, most of all, he had already felt the darkness in her once, when he had lifted the barrier in her mind that he had built to protect her from all the agony of the dying Cybermen.

And then there was what the Beast had said. It had probably told him more about her personality than she herself would ever have. Equally afraid of life and death. Bravery and desperation. Destroyer of the stars he had told her. What was it she had done?

"You're sure?" he eventually asked.

She had looked up to the stars, but now turned her head to him again, confusion on her face, "Sure about what?"

"That you don't have a death-wish."

"What? Where do you get that idea from?"

"You just brought it up. And besides, well, we could hear down there what the Beast was saying..."

She looked at him in surprise; he couldn't tell if it was because they heard it or because he had brought it up now.

"I haven't brought up anything. I just said I don't have a death-wish, as in: I won't sacrifice myself if there is any other chance. And as for the Beast: It did say a lot of things: Lies, assumptions. That's it." She shrugged.

 _Oh no. That's not true and we both know it._

He was very well aware that this could blow up right in his face, but maybe it was worth it, if he would finally get through to her. And yet, he hesitated. As far as he knew her by know, the chances were almost fifty-fifty that she would either dig into what the Beast had said about him, or simply accept it and wait for him to talk about it. Of course the latter would never happen. Even if she would get into his mind one day, he was certain he would be able to block her out of this specific part of himself and his memories.

"Lies? Are you sure? It was a telepath after all...," he finally decided to take the risk.

"And that's what bothers me," she said, rubbing her face with her hands. "All the things he said were about our past. Things he could have seen in our mind – if we suppose for a moment that he was telling the truth – but to Rose he said something about her future."

He watched as she was picking lints off the blanket as if it was the most important task ever, and slightly shook his head. At least his fears were unfounded. Change of topic, again. Maybe not an obvious change, but it was pretty clear to him that she wouldn't go any further into what the Beast had said about her.

And she was right. It had indeed bothered him as well. Had it been able to see the future? Or had this actually been a lie? He didn't want to put Rose in danger, even if that would mean to bring her back home to her mother.

"Nah, I'm sure _that_ was a lie. Even if it was one of her possible futures – it doesn't have to be the only possible one. And even if, time _can_ be rewritten."

"Not everything possible should be done," she murmured, and then said louder, "I don't think it does really matter what he said. She's not save. Not here, not with you. How many people did die during the few weeks that I know you? Maybe she's aware of that, and maybe she doesn't care, it's her life after all. And I know that there is no perfectly safe place anywhere, but some places definitely are more dangerous than others."

"So you're saying I should send her back home?"

"I'm not saying anything. But you should consider really carefully if you can live with something happening to her. If she dies."

"I won't let that happen. Ever," he said, even though he knew exactly that he couldn't always be there.

"But what if? Could you accept that it's not your fault? That she followed you out of her free will? Even though she knew how dangerous it could be?"

"What sort of question is that? You're not implying that I could be okay if she dies?"

"That's not what I'm saying. See, I have lost quite a few people under my command over the years. Some even as young as Rose. But every single one of them was aware of the dangers, and every single one made the decision to join the Fleet instead of doing something else. And despite knowing all that, I do feel guilty and responsible for their deaths. They weren't following me for who I am, or because I was their only chance to see something else than their own homeworld. It was their job, but nevertheless, I still blame myself. So, could you accept it if she decides to follow you, despite of the dangers, and then something happens to her?"

He looked at her, quite stunned. He had never seen it like that. Well, yes, he had. He had been around a bit himself and he had thought about it from quite a lot of possible perspectives, but her's was a rather rational – and military – approach. At least he couldn't remember the last time someone had told him that face to face. There was a difference between rationally knowing something and really _getting_ it. And no, of course he wouldn't be able to forgive himself, no matter if Rose would take the risk willingly or not. He had even lost companions before, and he was still blaming himself for that. But wouldn't that mean, he really had to stay alone from now on? He had thought about this every now and then, but in the end the selfish fear of being alone had won. And not all of his companions had ended up injured or even dead. The most of them had left him in the end to continue with their lives. Without him.

He watched how Mira got up, this time without tripping over the blanket.

"Where are you going?"

"Doing something."

"What?"

"Sorry, but that's none of your business," she said softly and folded the blanket. "By the way, we must not forget the plant. We made a promise." And off she went.

He hadn't forgotten it. Actually, he had prepared the seeds already, whilst Mira was sleeping. But what did she mean by none of his business? Talk to Rose?

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

She hadn't dared to left her room for the last hours. She had only taken a quick walk to the kitchen and back, because she was literally starving. She had slept for a few hours, but the rest of the time she had been thinking about what to tell the Doctor. She had messed up a great deal this time, although it hadn't been her intention.

No she was sitting in her room, almost scared of herself. Had she really almost sent someone to their certain death? She had started the whole 'Mira stays behind'-thing, hadn't she? Her memories of that moment were somewhat blurred by now.

It was true, she wanted her to leave, the sooner the better, but she didn't want her to die. Or anyone else.

By now she didn't know what had come over her. But it wasn't her fault alone. Even the Doctor had accused Mira of knowing beforehand what was about to happen. And then she thought he had died, and then she had lost it. She had never experienced something like that before, but she hadn't been able to think clearly. This time he wouldn't forgive her. As soon as Mira would tell him what happened, he would bring her back home.

She startled as she heard a knock on her door. Oh great. She had already talked to him.

"Come...," she started and cleared her throat, "Come in!" Her voice was shaky and her stomach felt light as filled with butterflies. But not the nice, beautiful ones, maybe it weren't butterflies at all, but moths. She was sitting on the bed and looked to the door, and to her surprise it wasn't the Doctor entering the room, but Mira. What did she want? Was he refusing to talk to her now?

"Did he send you to tell me that I have to leave?"

"No," the other woman said and closed the door. "May I?"

She didn't wait for an answer, but sat down on the other end of the bed.

"So what's it then?" Rose asked. She really didn't know what Mira could possibly want from her.

"I just thought you want to know that I haven't told him anything. Besides the facts, I mean. I suggested we should stay and everybody voted against me. That's it. It's up to you what to make of it."

Rose stared at her in shock.

 _What's that supposed to be now? A trap?_

"Why would you do that?" Were they working together now? Only to see for how long she would keep up lying?

"Because I think it should be your decision. And because I now that you haven't been yourself down on Kroptor. Maybe you wanted me dead down there. But not now. But most of all, because I want you to see that I don't want to take it all away from you. Neither him, nor everything else."

"Oh, and why would that be?" This had to be a trap, she was almost certain now. Mira hat absolutely no reason for being nice to her.

"Believe it or not, but I was once your age. I've grown up in the sixties, and then, suddenly, I was in the future with almost the whole universe at my hands - at least it seemed like that to me. And maybe I should be more mature now and tell him everything, so that he would send you home for your own safety. But as said, I think it's up to you. And maybe he will send you home anyway some day. Just be aware that it could always end up like it almost did this time. You could die. Or, with him gone, being trapped in a time that's not your own and in a place you don't belong, all alone. Frankly, I don't know what's worse."

Rose couldn't do anything but stare at her. She somehow wanted to believe her, at least that Mira wouldn't tell him, but that would be too good to be true, wouldn't it? The rest of her words were more frightening than anything else. Although she was probably right. It had been close, as it had been on the clockwork-spaceship before. Would she really end up one day being stuck somewhere?

"So you really won't tell him?"

"No, I won't. I won't tell him more than I already have. Which, basically, isn't even a lie. Just not the whole story."

Having that said, she left, leaving behind a rather stunned Rose.

* * *

 _A/n: I'm sorry, but there probably won't be an update next weekend, because I'm on vacation from Wednesday to Sunday._

 _Theladyofthelost: I don't really have an update-schedule. I try to update once a week, around the weekend. If I know that I don't have time, I'll post it at the end of the current chapter._

 _oXxgeorgiaxXo: No, I'm not exactly a fan of her, but I don't hate her either, even if it might come across like that. She had great moments, but she also had some traits I don't particularly like, e.g. every time the Doctor dared to speak to another woman or how she treated Mickey. All in all she is not more or less special to me like his other companions are (and he had some really great ones in the classic episodes), so I just don't get the hype around her ;-)_ _I also love Donna :-)_

 _Godric's Grl01: It's cool that you're learning German. And I was really glad that I didn't have to learn genders for English. If you need any help or want to have a conversation in German, just send me a PM :-)_

 _Quasi-Stellar, herherondaletotherescue, Jesse Wales, bored411, Ingridie, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, Ronin Kenshin: Thanks for the reviews :-)_


	36. Chapter 36 - Fear Her Pt 1

**Chapter XXXVI**

 _Mira's POV_

It was the third day after they had escaped the Beast and the black-hole. The TARDIS was drifting through space – or through time, Mira wasn't exactly sure about that. Although it felt more like drifting through time, the TARDIS could do both, as the Doctor had told her.

In the meantime they had planted one of the seeds of the old plant. Both, the Doctor and her, were curious how it would work out with a psychic plant and the TARDIS, and how the plant would like it aboard. Apart from that, it was the first time she herself had seen the garden. She had expected something like the gardens on the larger space ships she knew from her universe, with some painted sky and the ever present sound of the engines, never letting one forget that one actually was still in space. Here it was completely different. It was as if stepping through a transmitter onto another planet. One moment she had been in the TARDIS, the next, as she followed the Doctor through the door, she was in an environment that seemed so _real_. The smell, the sounds, even the sky seemed to stretch miles high upon their heads. It had a strange orange glow to it, closer to the horizon it was almost red. Horizon. There actually was a _horizon_. There were plants and trees growing here she had never seen before. She had considered for a moment to ask, if his homeworld had looked like this, but then she had rejected the thought. Instead she had turned around, expecting to see the wall from the corridor, but there was nothing but garden. No door, no wall, nothing that gave away the fact that they were still on a spaceship. From this moment on she had been rather quiet for the next hours.

Rose, on the other hand, was hardly seen during these three days, but the few times she did actually show up in the kitchen or the console room, Mira could clearly see how uncomfortable the girl was. She might have been thinking that Mira had done her a favour; but by know she had clearly gotten that this hadn't been the case. Instead of being forced to react, she had now to make a decision on her own. And to deal with the consequences. It would have been too easy to tell the Doctor and leave to him how to deal with it. Now it was completely up to her. Would she remain silent and live with the guilty conscience she was certainly having now, or would she tell him, and deal with the consequences?

Mira felt almost sorry for Rose, but on the other hand, she had to learn it eventually.

Mira's relation to the Doctor, however, was still a bit reserved, but not because she was afraid what would happen if Rose would really tell him. Certainly he would want to know why she hadn't grassed on Rose, but she would stand up to her decision.

The Doctor most likely had an idea that something was wrong. As far as she knew him by now, he had a habit of seeing only things he wanted to see, but that didn't mean he was ignoring the rest. He just liked to avoid thinking about these things if not absolutely necessary.

 **…**

Later that day, she and the Doctor were in the console room. He was fiddling with some switches, and she was sitting on the jump seat, trying to figure out for the umpteenth time what he was doing, but to no avail. She couldn't even read the writing on the monitor. If it was writing at all. Besides that, she was still thinking that this console room was lacking a proper, large screen. Large as in: From the floor to the ceiling.

"What about some flying lessons?" The Doctor had turned around and was now looking at her out of big, brown eyes. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his suit, bouncing on his feet.

"Flying lessons?" she replied, not entirely sure what to make out of his offer.

"Yeah. Just keeping her on course, for a start. Maybe bring her out of the time stream at a specific date? What are you saying?"

"Uhm... I thought only you can operate her?" she asked, still sceptically. Normally, she was totally in for flying spaceships, but not that particular one. Not technology belonging to a people so incredibly superior to her own. Not a time machine. Certainly not a living time machine. Keeping her on course. Sure. She couldn't even see if she was still on course or not.

"Yes. But I'm still here, so it should be fine. And I said flying lessons. Flying isn't really operating her. It's just about pressing a few buttons and such."

"I see. If you want me to be able to help you press the right buttons if we ever have to fly away from a black-hole again, then I'm fine with it." That's what it was about. He didn't even mean showing her how to fly the TARDIS. Would be above her intelligence anyway.

He looked at her, slightly hurt and disappointed. "I didn't say that. I just thought it might help you to understand the controls a bit better. At least she doesn't seem to have anything against you touching them."

"Hey, I said it's fine. I just doubt that I would be able to fly her. I can't even read what's on the screen."

"Well then, come here. That's the Communications Panel," he pointed at one part of the console. "You won't need that. Here's the diagnostic panel, not really important for you as well. Same for the information system panel. Well, when I say not really important, I mean, it might be good to have a look at the Harmonic Generator status from time to time-"

"And what's a Harmonic Generator?"

"Ah, it just uses the subneutronic spin as a basic Space-Time Warping Template, to collapse the interstitial mesh that opens and then seals the breach in space-time. It-" He suddenly stopped as he looked at her again. "Well, as said, not really important for you. It just shouldn't get blue."

"Blue?"

"Yeah. Not everyone uses red as a warning colour. Actually, not many besides humans."

"Fine." She had a hint of an idea what this Harmonic Generator might be for, but that was only one of the many systems of the TARDIS. "So this Harmonic Generator just prevents any distortions in Time-Space whilst the TARDIS materialises, meaning leaving the Time Vortex?"

"Yeah, basically you can say so," he replied and beamed at her. "Well, not very scientifically explained, but yes. So, here's the Helm Panel, or the Dematerialisation Systems Panel. That is important, in case you want to land her. Or dematerialise her. That's the master switch," he pointed to a large, glowing red switch, "And the Time Vortex Control, Steering Mechanism," that was obviously the transparent glass sphere, "And there, the Time Rotor Handbrake."

"Handbrake. Really? I thought this was a joke."

"Why would it be a joke?" he asked irritated.

"Don't know? Our ships don't have 'handbrakes'."

"Don't they? Well. Anyway, that's the Master Control Panel. Central Computer, Engine Release Lever, Dimensional Gyroscopic Stabiliser, Time Sensor, Telepathic Circuits."

"I guess one does have to be telepathic to fly her?"

"Flying her? Yes. Pressing some buttons? No."

"Oh. Okay." She still hadn't forgotten the experience with his sonic screwdriver on the clock-work-ship. On the other hand, that would explain the lack of displays and scales.

"So, that's important again. Or not so much, depends if you're able to plot a course through time and space. Requires some slightly complex mathematics," he rubbed the back of his neck, "That's the Navigation Panel. Materialisation Switches-"

"Wait. Why are they on the Navigation Panel and not on the Dematerialisation Panel?"

"Because it's the Dematerialisation Panel?"

"But you said I'd need that panel for landing her."

"Because you need to pull the handbrake after doing so."

"Great," she said, not really convinced of this whole idea.

"You've got it? Brilliant!" He exclaimed enthusiastic, obviously not getting the sarcasm. "So, first question: What's the state of our flight right now?"

 _Seriously?_

"You know what this room is lacking? A big, huge screen." She gestured what she meant by 'big'. "I don't know how it is with you, but humans actually do need to take a look outside from time to time to orientate themselves."

"Oh come on!" he whined. "Give it a try."

Give it a try? She looked at the console and slightly shook her head. It was glowing like a Christmas tree, but didn't tell her anything. Fine. Exceptional situations were calling for exceptional measures. If one needed to be psychic to fly her, than she should probably rely on that. She considered for a moment to simply touch one of the controls, but first she wanted to try something else. She focused on the perceptions she was normally used to blend out. There it was. This slight tingling on the back of her brain, a feeling like static energy, raising her hackles. A feeling she always got when something with the time wasn't right.

"I think we're flying through the Time Vortex right now."

"You _think_?" he asked, but it was clear to see that he was delighted, yet a bit sceptical at the same time. "That's a guess, isn't it?"

"No guess. I'm not entirely sure, there are certain... interfering fields in here. But I might say, ninety-five percent certain." She was a bit surprised about herself, to be honest. Sure, she had always been able to feel things like that, for time was connected with the universe itself, and she had experienced time travel and similar phenomenons before, but it seemed that it had grown stronger since she was aboard the TARDIS. Probably the constant exposure had sharpened her senses.

"We actually are drifting through the Time Vortex," he said after he had raised a brow. "So, let's put her out of drift mode and on an actual course. Steering mechanism."

She went over to the glass sphere, that was glowing green right now. She lifted her hand, but then hesitated for a moment, her hand hovering over the sphere.

"Don't worry. She doesn't bite. Well, most of the times at least."

Something about the way he tucked on his earlobe told her that he wasn't just saying that. Who knew what the old Time Ship was capable of.

"At least she knows how sensitive humans are to electric shocks. And she likes you. No need to be worried."

"Alright. Just one word," she said, and looked around, "I would actually prefer biting over electric shocks." For a moment she thought she could hear something like a laughter in her head, then she put her hand on top of the glass-sphere. Although she had expected it, it was overwhelming at first. She suddenly could feel the course of the ship, how it was drifting through time and space. It wasn't enough to really know where they were heading, and there were again these foreign signs in her mind's eye, but all in all it was something she hadn't experienced before. Sure, in her universe it was also possible to pilot ships with some sort of mind control, but it wasn't like that. The pilots didn't need to be actually psychic, although they needed a certain brain structure. Not everyone was able to do that. And it was certainly more about it then just touching a glass sphere.  
She let go of the glass-sphere and looked up again, right into his eyes. He was still smiling at her, but now it wasn't that overly manic, enthusiastic beaming, but a soft smile filled with genuine warmth and affection.

The next fifteen minutes they spend hurrying around the console – or to be more precise, she was hurrying and he was pointing at various levers and switches. Whilst she was at least trying to keep up and remember everything, she would in fact be happy enough to keep half of the things he was telling her. Meanwhile, Rose had entered the console room, but Mira hardly paid attention to her. They were about to materialise somewhere, and she had enough to do with processing not only his commands, but all the impressions she got from the TARDIS.

Finally, they made it. The sound of the engine stopped, as soon as she had pulled the 'handbrake'.

"Let's have a look where we are, hm?" the Doctor asked immediately and went for the door.

Mira had suspected he knew where they were, but well. Somewhere around Rose's time, that much she had gotten from the instruments.

"Ah," he said as he opened the door. Behind it was some sort of wall. "You got the spin wrong."

"What? I thought you were doing that," Mira replied. He had said something about a spin, meaning in which direction the door would be once they'd landed, but not that she should do it.

"No? I thought you were keeping an eye on the spin when materialising. Haven't I told you?"

"No, you haven't. I thought you did watch it."

"No," he looked at her, as innocent as possible, then flipped a few switches and released the handbrake. The engine came to life again, and after a few moments it stopped. Seemingly nothing had happened, but as he opened the door again, there was nothing in front of it.

"Ah!" he exclaimed.

Rose, who had been quiet all the time, followed him. Mira was the last one to leave the TARDIS and closed the door.

"So, near future, yeah?" Rose asked.

"I had a passing fancy. Only it didn't pass, it stopped," the Doctor replied.

"Looks like a construction site," Mira said.

They were walking down a road, until they reached a banner, saying, "LONDON 2012"

"30th Olympia," the Doctor said.

"No way! Why didn't I think of this, that's great! Ah!" Rose said.

"Only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about... wrestling each other in the sand with crowds stood about, begging... no, wait a minute... that was Club Med." the Doctor said, laughing about his own joke, nudging Mira in the side.

"Naked Greek blokes wrestling in the sand? Must have been some sight. Can we go there?" she replied and smirked at him, even more so as she saw the frown on his face.

"Humans," was all he said, slightly shaking his head, and then continued, " Just in time for the opening doo dah - ceremony... tonight, I thought you'd like that. Last one they had in London was dynamite. Wembley, 1948. I loved it so much, I went back and watched it all over again. Fella carrying the torch... lovely chap, what was his...?"

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

Rose was still slightly annoyed that the Doctor showed Mira how to fly the TARDIS. Well, more than slightly annoyed. Why hadn't he ever showed it to her? She tried to hide her mood, and she believed she was doing rather well, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. Apart from that, she had a growing guilty conscience. Mira hadn't told the Doctor – yet - but that didn't make it undone. She now found herself in a state of uncertainty, what was probably even worse than the Doctor being angry at her. Plus, she was living in constant fear that Mira would change her mind and tell him anyway. And there was something else – would she really end up being lost some day? Trapped somewhere in the past or the future, without the Doctor? She had a really bad feeling about her future that made her sick to her stomach. It had started after the Beast had said that she might die in battle so very soon, and had grown stronger every day.

"Mark...? John..? Mark...? Legs like pipe cleaners, but strong as a whippet," the Doctor kept on babbling, just as she caught sight of a poster out of the Corner of her eye. She moved closer to investigate it, followed by Mira, who had seen it as well. Only the Doctor kept on walking.

"Doctor...," she tried to catch his attention. It was a poster about missing people. Missing children.

"And in those days, everybody had a tea party to go to," the Doctor continued.

"Doctor?" she tried it again.

"Did you ever have one of those little cakes with the crunchy ball bearings on top-"

"DOCTOR!" Now Mira tried it as well, her voice raised. He stopped dead in his track and turned around.

"You should really look," Rose said to him, now that they had his attention.

"Do you know those - those things?" he was still talking about something else, but finally walked over to them. "Nobody else in this entire galaxy's ever even bothered to make edible ball bearings. Genius." He was standing now in front of the poster, right between her and Mira, and studied it, a frown on his face now. "What's taking them, do you think?" He scanned the street and then looked back at the poster. "Snatching children from a thoroughly ordinary street like this. Why's it so cold...? Is something reducing the temperature...?"

"It really is cold," Mira confirmed. They were right, Rose thought. Their breath was condensing to little white clouds. Well, at least her's and Mira's. The Doctor's not so much.

"It says they all went missing this week. Why would a person do something like this?" she asked him.

"What makes you think it's a person?" he said, after looking at her intently.

Oh yeah. One of these looks. Had he ever looked at her like that since Mira was with them? Hardly.

"Why can I hardly see your breath?" she eventually asked, not so much out of actual curiosity, but mainly to distract herself.

"Hm? What?" He exhaled to test it. "Ah, see what you mean. Colder body temperature."

"How cold?" Mira asked, but just then a door opened, and Rose turned around. A woman dumped a recycling sack on the pavement, and hurried back inside. All the while she had cast furtive looks around her.

"Whatever it is, it's got the whole street scared to death. Doctor, what-?" Rose said and turned around again, but the Doctor was gone. So was Mira, she saw her running along the street. A bit a head of her was the Doctor, at the other end of the Road.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

Something was going on here, the Doctor was sure about that. Wasn't there a certain smell in die air? And there was something else he was feeling...  
Without looking back, he ran over to the other end of the street and stopped in the front garden of one of the houses next to a mini football goal. He crouched down and held his hand out. There it was again. That strange tickling.

"What's it?" he suddenly heard a voice. He looked to his left and found Mira crouching next to him.

"Don't know. But it tickles! Can't you feel it?"

She held out her hand next to his, and said after a moment, "No, nothing."

"You really can't feel it? Why not?"

"Why should I? Maybe because sensing time and the universe really is enough. So no, whatever you say is there, I-"

"What's your game?" Someone addressed him from behind. He hadn't heard him coming, and now he spun around, almost a bit startled, and so did Mira.

"My... um... Snakes and Ladders? Quite good at... Squash. Reasonable," he said and then noticed the expression of disbelief and annoyance on the face of the man. He shot a quick glance to Mira, who looked equally caught as he himself must appear. "I'm... being facetious, aren't I? There's no call for it."

"We... We're investigating," Mira said.

"Yes! I'm- I'm a police officer! And she's one too, my colleague. I've got a badge - and- and a police car... you don't have to get- I can- I can prove it! Just hold on-" He searched for his psychic paper, but the man didn't seem to be overly impressed. On the contrary, he started to approach them, forcing them to walk backwards on to the street.

"We've had plenty of coppers poking around here, and you don't look - or sound - like any of them. What's that you're wearing anyway? You're heading for some fancy-dress ball?" he said and pointed at Mira. She was wearing her blue uniform jacket to her usual black clothes.

Meanwhile, they both reached a small group that had gathered around Rose.

"See, look! And that's my new recruit! Lewis," the Doctor said and pointed at Rose.

"Well, she looks less like a copper than you two do."

"As I said, training. New recruit. It was either that or hairdressing, so..." He had finally managed to get his psychic paper and showed it to the man. "Voila!"

"What are you going to do?" A woman asked. It was the one who had brought out the waste.

"The police have knocked on every door - no clues, no leads, nothing," an old woman said.

"Look, kids run off sometimes, all right? That's what they do-" the man who had caught him said.

"Dale Hixon in your garden, playing with your Tommy, and then...!" the old woman said, "Right in front of me, like he was never there! There's no need to look any further than this street. It's right here amongst us."

"Why don't we-" the Doctor tried to stop them, but to now avail. They kept on talking over each other.

"Why don't we start with him?" another woman said, and pointed at a guy who looked like a roadman. "There's been all sorts like him in this street, day and night."

"Fixing things up for the Olympics!" he said.

"Yeah, and taking an awful long time about it."

"I'm of the opinion that all we've gotta do is just-" the Doctor tried it again.

"You don't- what you just said, that's slander!" the roadman said.

"I don't care what it is!"

"I think we need to just-" the Doctor said, but they weren't listening, instead they started to accuse the poor roadman, and then started to talk about something evil. Finally, he had enough. "Fingers on lips!" he shouted. Now, that he had everyone's attention, he put his finger on his lips, and they all followed after a moment of bewilderment. All apart from Rose and Mira, who finally obeyed as well, after he had looked at them pointedly.

"In the last six days, three of your children have been stolen. Snatched out of thin air, right?" he asked into the silence.

"Er... can I...?" the old woman asked. Fascinating. It was actually working. He motioned for her to talk.

"Look around you... this was a safe street 'til it came. It's not a person. I'll say it if no one else will," she said, "Maybe you're coppers - maybe you're not. I don't care who you are. Can you please help us?"

From the corner of his eye he saw how Rose turned her head to one of the houses. So did the woman they had seen earlier, and then she hurried back into the house.

 **...**

A few moments later the group had disbanded and the tree of them were walking around the front lawn. There was this smell again, but he wasn't sure where it came from. He was sniffing and trying to figure it out as Rose asked, "Want a hanky?"

"Can you smell it?" he asked in return, meaning both of them. Now they were sniffing as well. "What does it remind you of?"

"Metal?" Mira asked. "A bit like the smell that comes from high voltage generators. I mean really high voltage generators, as in space-ships. Or plasma discharges. But still a bit different, and it's definitely no ozone in it."

"Yeah, smell like metal," Rose confirmed.

"Mm-hm!" He smiled at them both. Then he waved at the man who had caught him in the act, before he headed for a narrow alleyway.

"Danny Edwards cycled in one end but never came out the other," he said after they had entered the alleyway. Just then he was feeling something again. "Whoa, there it goes again!" He showed the back of his hand to Rose and Mira. "Look at the hairs on the back of my manly hairy hand."

"And there's that smell... it's like a um... a burnt fuse plug or something," Rose said.

"There's a residual energy in the spots where the kids vanished. Whatever it was, it used an awful lot of power to do this."

"Some sort of transmitting technology?" Mira asked.

"Could be. But why is someone doing that?" he wondered.

"Aren't you a beautiful boy?!" Rose said as they had left the alleyway and were back in front of the houses.

"Thanks! I'm experimenting with back-combing," he said absent mindedly, whilst he was looking around, still trying to figure out what was causing all this. Then he turned his head to Rose and noticed the cat.

"Oh," he said, rather disappointed. Next to him he heard Mira giggle.

"Sorry," she said, still grinning, as he looked at her indignantly.

"I used to have one like you," Rose continued, and stroke the cat.

 _Cats._

Not that he had anything against them. Not really. But...

"What?" Rose asked, seemingly noticing the expression on his face.

"No, I'm not really a cat person. Once you've been threatened by one in a nun's wimple, it kind of takes the joy out of it," he said.

Meanwhile, the cat had turned to Mira and was sitting not even three feet away from her. Suddenly, the animal hissed at her.

"Cats in nun's wimples?" Mira asked, obviously trying to ignore the cat.

"Long story," he waved it aside as the cat hissed again. "You're not a cat person either, are you?"

"Well, at least cats don't like me. I don't have anything against them. Don't know. Maybe they sense that I'm different." The cat hissed again. "Stop it! Why don't you get lost?" she said and waved at the cat.

Finally, the cat turned around and walked away, right over to a cardboard box.

"Come here, puss!" Rose said and followed the animal. "What do you wanna go in there for?" she asked as the cat was entering the box. Then there was a whooshing sound, and after that nothing but silence. Rose peered inside the box, and he was almost certain that the box would be empty. "Doctor!" she said and sounded alarmed.

He hurried over to her, as did Mira. Empty. The box was indeed empty, he could see it now as Rose turned it around. Then, he got hit by the smell.

"Whoa! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" It was very strong this time, and he tried to wave it away. "Iron residue. Blimey! That takes some doing!" He picked up the box and turned it around. "Just to snatch a living organism out of space/time. This baby is just like," he put on some accent, ""I'm 'avin' some of that" - I'm impressed."

"You? Impressed? The man with the time machine? Well if that's not a reason for being concerned...," Mira said quietly.

"So the cat's been transported?" Rose asked.

"It can harness huge reserves of ionic power," he explained instead of answering her question. "We need to find the source of that power." He looked around. "Find the source and you will find... whatever has taken to stealing children and fluffy animals. See what you can see." He turned to Rose, whacked her on the shoulder gestured his eyes and said, "Keep 'em peeled, Lewis."

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

"So, any idea what this is all about?" Mira asked the Doctor. She had followed him, and now they were looking around, without really knowing what they were looking for.

"I don't have the slightest," he admitted.

"I only hope the children are still alive. I mean, if someone wanted them dead, they could have done it a lot easier, couldn't they?" she asked, and was thinking at the same time that there always was a fate worse than dead.

"Well-" the Doctor said as they turned around a corner. He didn't finish his sentence, instead he started running. A moment later Mira saw it for herself. Rose was attacked by... Yeah, by what? It seemed like a tangle of wires, hurling angrily above Rose who was laying on the ground.

"Stay still!" the Doctor yelled. She was following him immediately, and as soon as they had reached Rose, he pointed his sonic screwdriver at the _thing_. After a few seconds, the strange ball of wires collapsed into a small, more solid ball, falling into Rose's outstretched hands. The girl didn't seem to be overly shocked, Mira had to give her that.

"Okey dokey?" the Doctor asked, hold out his hand and pulled Rose back to her feet.

"Yeah, cheers," Rose said, a bit out of breath.

"No probs," he said and hugged her, then all three of them turned their attention to the object in Rose's hand.

"I'll give you a fiver if you can tell me what the hell it is," the Doctor said and then pocked it with his sonic. "'Cos I haven't got the foggiest."

"Well, I can tell you you've just killed it," Rose said.

"It was never living. It's animated by energy. Same energy that's snatching people," the Doctor said and took the object from her, throwing it up and down, with this particular delighted expression on his face. "That is so dinky! The Go-Anywhere creature. Fits in your pocket... makes friends, impresses the boss... breaks the ice at parties...," he said and put the object into his pocket.

 **…**

They had walked back into the TARDIS, and the Doctor had placed the object on the TARDIS console for analysing.

"Oh - hi ho, here we go. Let's have a look," he said. Mira stepped closer, and regretted once more that she couldn't read the writings on the screen.

"Get out of here...," the Doctor said surprised.

"What's it say?" Rose asked.

Instead of answering her, the Doctor took a pencil from his pocket, held the object in front of him and used the rubber at the end of the pencil to erase a part of the object.

"It is!" he said, and blew it. "It's graphite! Basically the same material as an HB pencil."

"I was attacked by a... pencil scribble?" Rose said in astonishment.

"Scribble creature," the Doctor said and then sniffed at it. "Brought into being with ionic energy. Whatever we're dealing with, it can create things as well as take them. But... why make a scribble creature?!"

"Maybe it was just a try? To figure out its power, experimenting?" Mira said.

"Or maybe it was a mistake... I mean, you scribble over something when you wanna get rid of it. Like a um... like a drawing. Like a... a-" Rose threw in, then she seemed to realise something. "...child's drawing. You said it was in the street."

"Probably...," the Doctor said.

"The girl."

"Of COURSE!" the Doctor yelled, followed by, "... What girl?"

Yeah, what girl. There had been a girl in the window, Mira had seen it as well, and there had been something weird about her.

"Something about her gave me the creeps... even her own mum looked scared of her," Rose said. So, she had noticed it as well.

"The girl in the window?" Mira asked and Rose nodded.

"Are you deducting?" the Doctor said, and leaned in.

"I think I am," Rose replied, giving him a conspiratorial look.

For a moment it almost seemed between the two of them like it must have been before her arrival, Mira thought. At least on the outside. She knew exactly what was going on with Rose. Of course she couldn't tell what was going on with the Doctor, but she was almost certain he was only too aware that there was something going on.

"Copper's hunch?" the Doctor said to Rose.

"Permission to follow it up, sarge."

* * *

 _StargladesTime, ash, Ingridie, bored411, AxidentlGoddess, oXxgeorgiaxXo: Thanks for reviewing :-)_

 _Falling Right Side-Up: Thanks for leaving so many reviews :-) Glad you like the story. And sorry for making you hating Rose now. Didn't mean that ;-)_


	37. Chapter 37 - Fear Her Pt 2

**Chapter XXXVII**

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor was walking back to the house where they had seen the girl in the window, followed by Rose and Mira. He thought for a moment how great it would be if they would just get along with each other – knowing at the same moment that this would never happen. There was still something going on between them. More than the usual hassle. He was assuming that something had happened on Kroptor. No, he wasn't assuming it, in fact, he knew. He just had no idea, what.

As they had reached the house, he rang the bell. There was silence for a moment, but then the woman who had been with the group earlier, opened.

"Hello! I'm the Doctor and this is Rose. Can we see your daughter?" he said, and smiled cheerfully at her.

"No! You can't," she answered, looking rather irritated back at him.

Well, he had assumed that, and also knew that persuasion was rarely successfully in these cases. "Okay! Bye," he said, turned around, Mira and Rose following him, and started to walk away.

"Why?" he heard her voice behind him, making all three of them turn around again.

"Why do you want to see Chloe?" she wanted to know.

"Well, there's some interesting stuff going on in this street, and I just thought - well, we thought - that she might like to give us a hand," he explained.

"Sorry to bother you," Rose added.

"Yeah, sorry. We'll let you get on with things. On your own. Bye again!" He turned around again, but the door behind him was still open.

"Wait!" he heard after they had taken a few steps. They turned around once more.

"Can you help her?" she asked.

"Yes, I can," he said with a big smile. Humans. Sometimes they were really predictable. Some other times, not so much.

He entered the house, Rose and Mira following him, and followed Trish – she had introduced herself now - to the sitting room. The TV was turned on, showing footage of the Olympic Torch Bearer.

He flung his coat over the sofa, whilst Rose was sitting down. Mira was standing next to him, eyeing Trish carefully. He wondered once more how it must be for a human to be forced to handle all the emotions of others, especially in a case like this.

"She stays in her room, most of the time. I try talking to her, but it's like trying to speak to a brick wall. She gives me nothing, just asks to be left alone," Trish said, and one didn't need to be an empath to notice her confusion, insecurity and fear.

"What about Chloe's dad?" Rose asked.

"Chloe's dad died a year ago."

"I'm sorry."

"You wouldn't be if you'd known him."

"Well! Let's go and say hi!" he said brightly.

"I should check on her first... she might be asleep," Trish replied.

"Why are you afraid of her, Trish?" he asked, suddenly way more serious.

"I want you to know before you see her that's she's really a great kid."

"I'm sure she is."

"She's never been in trouble at school... you should see her report from last year. As and Bs," Trish said, smiling at them.

"Can I use your loo?" Rose suddenly asked.

Trish nodded, and he eyed Rose closely as she was leaving the room. He was only hoping she wouldn't get them all into trouble, but on the other hand, it wasn't to bad to take a look around.

"She's in the choir...," Trish said, "She's singing in an old folks home. Any mum would be proud. You know... I want you to know these things before you see her, Doctor. Because right now, she's not herself."

"It's okay Trish. Really," Mira said and gave her a reassuring smile. Trish nodded at her and then left, obviously looking for her daughter. Hopefully she wouldn't bump into Rose.

"So, what're you thinking?" he asked Mira quietly.

"Aside from the obvious? Well, there is something going on in this house. I'm just not certain, what it is by now. But Trish don't know anything, that's for sure. She's only really worried and confused. But we definitely seem to be on the right track."

Before he could reply, Trish showed up again.

"She's in the kitchen."

They followed her, and found Chloe drinking some milk from the fridge.

"All right, there?" he said to her as he peered around the corner. He walked into the kitchen, Mira and Trish behind him, and settled himself against a table.

"I'm the Doctor," he introduced himself and watched how Chloe put the milk back and closed the door of the fridge.

"I'm Chloe Webber," the child said and looked at him. Well, there was definitely something going on with her, but right now he had not the slightest idea what this could be.

"How're you doing, Chloe Webber?"

"I'm busy. I'm making something. Aren't I, mum?" she said without any emotions in her voice.

"And like I said, she's not been sleeping," Trish said.

"But you've been drawing, though. I'm rubbish. Stick men are about my limit. Can do this, though...," he said and did the 'live long and prosper' sign from Star Trek. "Can you do that?"

No reaction from Chloe, even though Trish was nodding at her to encourage her.

"They don't stop moaning," Chloe said, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Chloe...," Trish said.

"I try to help them, but they don't stop moaning."

"Who don't?" he asked and lowered his hand again. Well, it had been worth a try. Maybe Mira was getting more than he did now, but she would most certainly not tell him right in front of Trish and Chloe, as long as it wasn't really necessary.

"We can be together," Chloe said.

"Who? Who can be together?" Mira asked.

"Sweetheart-," Trish said, moved closer to her and tried to lay an arm around her shoulders.

"Don't touch me, mum."

Trish stopped, her hand falling back at her side. She glanced at him, desperation written all over her face.

"I'm busy... Doctor.," Chloe said, and then left without looking back.

"Oh, come on, Chloe! Don't be a spoil sport!" he yelled and followed her back into the hallway, "What's the big project? I'm dying to know! What're you making up there?" Suddenly, he felt Mira's hand in his and then she was dragging him to the stairs. He was about to ask her what was wrong, but then he heard Rose screaming his name from upstairs. He didn't need any further invitation, but started to run after Mira, with Trish and Chloe at his heels.

He found Rose standing in front of an opened wardrobe in Chloe's room.

"I'm coming to hurt you...," a deep voice was coming from within the wardrobe. He slammed the door shut without really having a glance inside.

"Look at it," Rose said, her eyes still fixed on the now closed wardrobe.

"No, ta," he said and then walked away to examine the drawings on the wall, putting his glasses on.

"What the hell was that?" Trish wanted to know.

"A drawing. The face of a man," Rose answered.

"What face?" Trish asked and tried to open the door, but Rose got in her way and stopped her.

"Best not," Rose said.

By now, Mira was standing next to him, carefully touching one of the paintings.

"This aren't mere paintings," she said so quietly that only he could hear her. She was right, he had seen it as well.

"What've you been drawing?" Trish asked Chloe behind his back.

"I'm drew him yesterday."

"Who?"

"Dad."

"Your dad? But he's long gone. Chloe, with all the lovely things in the world - why him?" Trish asked upset.

"I dream about him, staring at me."

"I thought we were putting him behind us. What's the matter with you?"

"We need to stay together."

"Yes, we do."

"No. Not you. Us," Chloe said determined, making the Doctor turn around.

"We need to stay together. And then it'll be all right," Chloe continued.

Trish went over to her, touching Chloe's cheeks, causing her to flinch.

"Trish, the drawings - have you seen what Chloe's drawings can do?" Rose asked.

"Who gave you permission to come into her room? Get out of my house." Trish said, suddenly angry.

"Tell us about the drawings, Chloe," he asked the child.

"I don't wanna hear any more of this," Trish tried to stop him.

"But that drawing of her dad... I heard a voice. He spoke," Rose said.

"He's dead. And these - they're kids pictures. Now get out!"

"These aren't kids pictures. There is something going on with Chloe, and you know it. She has some sort of power. Maybe she always had it, maybe something's causing it now. But I believe she had used it to take all the children. Danny Edwards. Dale Hicks, and whoever else has vanished," Mira said to her, looking directly into her eyes as if she could see right through them and tell everything she was hiding. It was high time for someone to bring it up, he thought.

"Get out," was all Trish said.

"Have you seen those drawings move?" Rose fell in, almost pleadingly.

"I haven't seen anything," Trish said derisively.

"Yes you have. Out of the corner of your eye," he said so determined, that she turned around to him.

"No."

"And you dismissed it, because what choice do you have when you see something you can't possibly explain?" he continued and moved over to her, "You dismiss it, right? And if anyone mentions it, you get angry, so it's never spoken of, ever ag-"

"She's a child-"

"And you're terrified of her. But there's no one to turn to, because who's gonna believe the things you see out of the corner of your eye? No one. Except me," he said, now standing right in front of her.

"Who are you?" she suddenly asked, and he knew he had won.

"I'm help."

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

They were all back in the kitchen. All but Chloe. Mira was leaning against the worktop, the Doctor next to her, a jar of marmalade in his hands. He was unscrewing the lid, and before Mira could say anything – or even realise what he was about to do - he had dipped his fingers into it and started to suck the marmalade off.

"Hey!" she said and nudged him in the side with her elbow, just as Rose demonstratively cleared her throat and shook her head at him. He paused and looked around, guilt written all over his face, and finally glanced at Trish who was just staring at him. Instantly, he put the lid back and pushed the jar behind him.

"Those pictures - they're alive. She's drawing people and they end up in her pictures," Rose finally broke the awkward silence which had fallen over the room.

"Ionic energy. Chloe's harnessing it to steal those kids and place them in some kid of holding-pen made up of ionic power," the Doctor said.

"And what about the dad from hell in her wardrobe?" Rose asked.

"How many times do I have to tell you? He's dead," Trish said.

"Well, he's got a very loud voice for a dead bloke," Rose whispered under her breath and turned around.

"If living things can become drawings, then maybe drawings can become living things...," the Doctor started.

Oh hell, what an unpleasant thought. The Doctor must have come to the same conclusion, as he suddenly shivered violently, causing both her and Rose to jump.

"Chloe's real dad is dead, but not the one who visits her in her nightmares. That dad seems very real. That's the dad she's drawn and he's a heartbeat away from crashing into this world...," He continued.

"She always got the worst of it when he was alive."

"Doctor, how can a twelve-year-old girl be doing any of this?" Rose asked.

Mira was convinced by now that this wasn't Chloe's doing. There was something – or someone – else involved. Something alien, but she couldn't exactly tell what by now. Maybe a telepath could find out more.

"Let's find out," the Doctor said after a short pause, almost as if he had read her thoughts, and strode off. She followed, Rose and Trish behind her.

 **...**

They found Chloe in her room, sitting cross-legged on her bed. The Doctor was standing now right in front of her. Chloe didn't say anything, but lifted her hand to repeat the same strange sign he had done earlier in the kitchen. Mira didn't know the meaning of it, but she assumed it was one of these little things that were common knowledge in a society. Something she didn't know, because she didn't belong here, and something she had to learn anew once again. The last time, even though it had only been four-hundred years, everything she had known - little things like that, may it be references from books, songs, movies or recent events - had been long gone and replaced by something else.

"Nice one," the Doctor said and smiled slightly at Chloe. Then he knelt in front of her and raised his hands until they came to rest on her face, his fingers on her temples. Almost instantly, Chloe's eyes rolled into her head for a moment before closing. He had closed his eyes as well now, and a few seconds later Chloe was falling backwards onto her bed.

Mira watched in astonishment. Of course she knew what he was capable of, she had experienced it once already. But nevertheless, it was amazing. And nothing to forget about, whenever she was about to offer again that he could see for himself if she was deceiving him or not the next time. Or challenging him in any other way.

"There we go...," he said as Chloe was lying on the bed.

"I can't let him do this-," Trish said and was about to walk over to her daughter, but Rose stopped her.

"Shh, it's okay. Trust him."

"Now we can talk," the Doctor said after he had straightened up again, addressing Chloe.

"I want Chloe. Wake her up. I want Chloe," the child said, in a strange, whispered voice. It was all to clear now that it wasn't her speaking now.

"Who are you?"

"I want Chloe Webber!" she insisted.

"What've you done to my little girl?" Trish said upset.

"Doctor, what is it?" Rose fell in.

Well, something alien, that was pretty obvious now, Mira thought and stepped closer. The Doctor was walking slowly around the bed, his eyes fixed on Chloe.

"I'm speaking to you. The entity that is using this human child. I request parley in compliance with the Shadow Proclamation," he said.

"I don't care about shadows or parleys," Chloe whispered.

"So what do you care about?"

"I want my friends."

Suddenly Mira was hit by the loneliness that the entity inside Chloe was feeling. It was a deep, overwhelming, and existence-threatening loneliness, mixed with despair.

"You're lonely, I know. Identify yourself," the Doctor said softly, now kneeling besides Chloe.

"I am one of many. I travel with my brothers and sisters. We take an endless journey. A thousand of your lifetimes. But now I am alone. I hate it. It's not fair. And I hate it!" Chloe said and her eyes snapped open.

"Name yourself!"

"Isolus!"

"You're Isolus. Of course," the Doctor said after a moment, as if that would explain everything. Mira had never heard of the Isolus.

"Our journey began in the Deep Realms when we were a family," Chloe said and started to draw on a piece of paper next to her bed whilst speaking.

"What's that?" Trish asked. The drawing began to take shape, and Mira could see something like a flower in it.

"The Isolus Mother, drifting in Deep Space," the Doctor explained and stood up. "See, she jettisons millions of fledgling spores. Her children. The Isolus are empathic beings of intense emotions, but when they're cast off from their mother, their empathic link, their need for each other, is what sustains them. They need to be together. They cannot be alone."

"Oh my god," Mira said quietly. Now she understood. Even she was feeling incredibly lonely from time to time amongst other people as an empath. Other psychics were rare amongst humanity. But humans weren't meant to be psychic, so she could cope with that, at least that's what she was assuming. How must it be for an empathic being to be suddenly separated from their people? If they really were linked, just as the Doctor had said... Well, he had been linked to his own people as well.

"Our journey is long," Chloe continued, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"The Isolus children travel, each inside a pod. They ride the heat and energy of solar tides. It takes thousands and thousands of years for them to grow up," the Doctor added.

"Thousands of years just floating through space... poor things - don't they go mad with boredom?" Rose asked.

"We play."

"You... play?"

"Mm. While they travel, they play games. They use their ionic power to literally create make-believe worlds in which to play," the Doctor said and sat down on the bed next to Chloe. Mira didn't feel like saying anything right now. She had enough to deal with the fate of the Isolus inside Chloe. It was a child just as Chloe, lonely and lost, separated from its siblings.

"In-flight entertainment," Rose said.

"Helps keep them happy. While they're happy, they can feed off each others love. Without it, they're lost," the Doctor replied. A loss she could feel all to well herself, emanating from Chloe/the Isolus inside her.

"Why did you come to Earth?" the Doctor asked.

"We were too close." She ripped off the piece of paper and started to draw on a new one.

"That's a solar flare from your sun. Would've made a tidal wave of solar energy that scattered the Isolus pods," the Doctor said.

"Only I fell to Earth. My brothers and sisters are left up there. And I cannot reach them. So alone."

"Your pod crashed... where is it?"

"My pod was drawn to heat...," she said, "And I was drawn to Chloe Webber. She was like me. Alone. She needed me. And I her."

"You empathised with her. You wanted to be with her because she was alone like you." The Doctor was now gently stroking Chloe's head.

"I want my family. It's not fair."

Mira took a quick look at Rose and Trish. Both were watching, obviously affected. Well, who couldn't be affected by the fate of the little Isolus?

"I understand. You wanna make a family. But you can't stay in this child. It's wrong. You can't steal any more friends for yourself," the Doctor said.

"I am alone!"

Suddenly, their was a thump from the wardrobe, making Trish gasp.

"I'm coming to hurt you." They all could hear the voice they've heard before. Mira turned to the wardrobe. It was ionic energy, so there was nothing she could do about it. She had still no idea exactly how the Isolus was doing it, she only knew it wasn't the psychic energy she was used to. Chloe was trembling by now, her face still expressionless.

"I'm coming," the voice said and there was a pounding at the door of the wardrobe.

"Trish, how do you calm her?" the Doctor urged.

"What?!" Trish said in panic.

"When she has nightmares, what do you do?"

"I... I..."

"What do you do?" the Doctor repeated.

"I sing to her."

"Then start singing," he said and motioned for Trish to come over. He stood up and she was sitting down next to her daughter.

"Chloe... I'm coming," the voice in the wardrobe said.

Right then, Trish started to sing, "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, merry merry king of the bush is he... "

"Chloe... Chloe...," the voice growled.

There was still banging and thumping on the wardrobe door from the inside. Whatever was in there certainly was about to get out soon. Trish was stroking Chloe's hair, singing, "Laugh, Kookaburra laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be."

Eventually, the noises from the wardrobe as well as the voice faded. Chloe was asleep now, her mother hugging her on the bed.

"He came to her because she was lonely... Chloe, I'm sorry...," Trish said with tears in her eyes, and shortly after that, she broke out into sobbing, her head on the shoulder of her daughter.

Mira could do nothing more than standing there and watching her. She felt so incredibly sorry for her, not only Chloe, but her mother as well. Feeling her guilt and grieve didn't help to make it any better. Suddenly, she felt a hand around her own, squeezing it slightly. As she turned her head, she looked into warm, brown eyes.

"You're alright?" the Doctor asked quietly.

She nodded and wiped over her face with her hand. She hadn't realised she was crying until now. She returned the squeeze and then rested her head for a few seconds against his shoulder. For a short while she almost felt the security and peace she had felt back in the library, when had been laying in his arms with him reading to her. As if nothing had happened on Kroptor. She lingered for a moment in this illusion before she let go of his hand. Not only but also because of the look that Rose had shot her. Then she followed the Doctor downstairs into the sitting room, to give Trish a moment to get herself together again.

A few moments later, Trish came into the sitting room as well and started to gather up all pencils that were lying around.

"Chloe usually got the brunt of his temper. When he'd had a drink. The day he crashed the car, I thought we were free," she said whilst doing so.

So that was it. Chloe's father was a drunkard, and died crashing the car. But not speaking to her daughter about him wasn't the solution, and most likely Trish was getting that by now.

"I thought it was over," Trish continued as Rose handed her a bunch of pencils.

"Did you talk to her about it?" the girl asked.

"I didn't want to," Trish replied bitterly.

"So, to whom should Chloe talk about then, hm?" Mira asked her. "She's all alone with this, and no matter how bad her father might have been, she needs someone to talk to about him. That's why she feels so alone."

"Her an the Isolus... two lonely kids who need each other," the Doctor added.

"And it won't stop, will it, Doctor? It'll just keep pulling kids in," Rose asked.

"It's desperate to be loved. It's used to a pretty big family."

"How big?"

"Say around... four billion?"

Bloody hell. Would the Isolus really snap four billion people? There was a stunned silence in the room, as the Doctor reached for his coat.

They said goodbye to Trish and left, not before telling her once more, that she should lock away each and every pencil in the house.

"We need that pod," the Doctor said once they were outside.

"It crashed - won't it be destroyed?" Rose asked.

"Well, it's been sucking in all the heat it can... hopefully that should keep it in a fit state to launch," the Doctor replied. "It must be close. It should have a weak energy signature that the TARDIS can trace. Once we find it, then we can stop the Isolus."

* * *

 _time-twilight, bored411, Falling Right Side-Up, oXxgerogiaxXo, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, PondRiverWilliams, Pommyth, Nancy Nickeson: Thank you for reading and reviewing :-)_


	38. Chapter 38 - Fear Her Pt 3

**Chapter XXXVIII**

 _Mira's POV_

"We can scan for the same trace we picked up from the scribble creature. Just need to widen the field a bit," the Doctor said as he was opening the door to the TARDIS. As soon as they got in, he gathered some parts and started to put them all together. Rose was sitting on the jump-seat, whilst Mira was leaning against the console and watched what he was doing, holding a few items he had given to her. In her thoughts she was still with the Isolus. Of course, it wasn't right what it had done, snatching all these people. But it hadn't been out of ill intentions. Nevertheless, it had to stop doing that.

"You knew the Isolus was lonely before it told you. How?" Rose asked.

Before answering, the Doctor shoved Rose off of the jump-seat and sat down himself. "I know what it's like to travel a long way on your own," he said and then turned to Mira, "Give me the stina magnetic erm...," he nodded over to something in her hands, "thing in your left hand!"

She handed it to him.

"Sounds like you're on its side," Rose said.

 _Side? Really?_

Was it really that simple for Rose? Two sides, and that's it? Nothing in between? Well, she was young as well, maybe not as young as the Isolus, but she should have a more differentiated view of the world by now.

"I sympathise, that's all," the Doctor answered.

"The Isolus has caused a lot of pain for these people," Rose said.

"It didn't mean to," Mira threw in. Of course, that didn't excuse it, but nevertheless.

"It's a child!", the Doctor exclaimed, and then blew on the device, "That's why it went to Chloe, two lonely mixed up kids."

"Hmm... feels to me like a temper tantrum because it can't get its own way," Rose said, whilst chewing on her gum.

Now Mira really had to bite her tongue. She could think of a lot to say to Rose about temper tantrums and getting one's way.

"It's scared! Come on, you were a kid once," the Doctor said, way more diplomatic than Mira would have put it. "Binary dot," he added and nodded to Mira again.

She gave him the little black dot she was holding.

"Yes! And I know what kids can be like. Right little... terrors," Rose replied.

"Gum," was all the Doctor said to Rose and held out his hand.

Rose spit the gum into his hands and said, "I've got cousins. Kids can't have it all their own way. That's part of being a family."

"What about trying to understand them?" the Doctor said, almost absent-mindedly, whilst he was putting the gum somewhere on the device.

Mira looked at him from the side. She new this tone by now, it seemed to be his way of making something important sounding not important. Of course, it could really be the case that he wasn't aware of what he was saying at moments like that, but-

"Easy for you to say. You don't have kids," Rose said.

"I was a dad once," he replied, still fiddling with the device.

 _Oh good lord._

It didn't require much imagination to think about what had become of his family. That was probably the worst thing that could happen to someone. Seeing their own children die. They must have died with his people as his homeworld was destroyed.

"What did you say?" Rose had turned around and looked at him utterly stunned.

He didn't seem to notice it. "I think we're there!" he said instead of replying to her question. "Fear. Loneliness. They're the big ones, Rose. Some of the most terrible acts ever committed have been inspired by them. We're not dealing with something that wants to conquer or destroy," he continued.

Rose, on the other hand, didn't seem to listen. Again she somehow had forgotten that he had a past. Nine-hundred years of a past. Rose most likely couldn't even imagine what it did mean to live that long. And even if nine-hundred years weren't long for him, he was an adult, compared to Rose. A man who obviously had had a family and had survived a war.

The Doctor continued pressing buttons at the console, quite oblivious to the shock he had just given to Rose.

"There's a lot of things you need to get across this universe." he said whilst walking around the console. "Warp drive... wormhole refractors..."

Right at this moment, Mira spotted a flashing white light on a map of the neighbourhood. She held her hand out to point at it.

"You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold," the Doctor continued and looked at her, grinning as he saw her outstretched hand. He finally took it, still smiling.

"No," she couldn't help herself but laugh. "There, I'm pointing." His smile was just too catching sometimes.

"It's the pod! It is in the street! Everything's coming up Doctor!" he said after he had taken a look at the map himself, then he went to the door.

Mira followed him as well as a still slightly distracted Rose.

"Okay. It's about two inches across. Dull grey, like a gulls egg. Very light," he said after he had closed the door.

"So these pods - they travel from sun to sun using heat, yeah?" Rose was now walking in front of them. "So it's not all about love and stuff. Doesn't the pod just need heat?"

Mira could hardly understand Rose's last words, because suddenly everything around her went dark. It was as if she was falling.

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

Instead of the expected answer, Rose suddenly heard a crash from behind her. She spun around and saw – nothing. Nothing aside from the device the Doctor had been holding, what was now lying shattered on the floor.

"Doctor?"

He was gone. Just as the TARDIS, and Mira.

The next moment she was running the way back to Trish's house. It was all to clear to her what had happened, and Chloe was her only way to get the Doctor back.

Once there, she was banging against the door, until Trish finally opened it. Rose more or less ignored her, and ran up the stairs into Chloe's room.

"It's okay! I've taken all the pencils off her!", she heard Trish behind her. Well, obviously not all. She burst into Chloe's room, and found the girl sitting on her desk – drawing. She swiped away the paper Chloe was drawing on. There he was. The Doctor, and the TARDIS. And Mira, of course. Why did have to be him? Wouldn't she be enough?

"Leave me alone! I want to be with Chloe Webber! I love Chloe Webber!" the child complained.

"Bring him back, now," Rose demanded with hardly suppressed anger in her voice.

"No!"

Oh god dammit. This child was really getting annoying. She turned her head for a moment, then suddenly spun around again and grabbed Chloe by the shoulders.

"Don't you realise what you've done? He was the only one who could help you, now bring him back!" she yelled at her. The next second, she immediately regretted her outburst. It was a child, after all. Chloe as well as the Isolus.

"Leave me alone! I love Chloe Webber!"

"I know," Rose said with her face softening, "I know."

She had almost lost it. Again. She took another look at Chloe's latest drawing. "Doctor, if you can hear me, I'm gonna get you out of there. I'll find the pod." Then she turned to Trish, "Don't leave her alone, no matter what," and left the room.

 **…**

She had to find the pod. That was her only chance, Rose thought as she was back outside on the street. Her eyes fell on Kel, who was smoothing down the road with the palm of his hand. Strange sight, but anyway...

"Heat. They travel on heat," it suddenly hit her.

"Look at this finish. Smooth as a baby's bottom," Kel said as she approached him, obviously proud of his own work. "Not a bump or a lump."

"Kel, was there anything in this street in the last few days giving off a lot of heat?" Rose said whilst crouching next to him.

"I mean, you can eat your dinner off this. Beautiful. So you tell me why the other one's got a lump in it when I gave it the same love and craftsmanship I did this one!" he replied as if not really listening.

"Well, when you've worked it out, put it in a big book about tarmacking, but before you do that - think back six days."

"Six days...," he said thoughtfully, "When I was laying this the first time round!"

"What?"

"Well, that's when I filled in this pothole for the first time."

"Six days ago...," Rose thought aloud, "Hot fresh tar..."

"Blended to a secret council recipe."

It stroke her like a lightning. Heat. Pod. Hole in the road. There was just one more thing she needed. Her eyes fell on the van, and the next second she was running over to it.

"Ah- ah! I don't keep it in the van!" she heard Kel yell from behind her.

She had reached the van by know and opened the door.

"Ay, that's a council van. Out," Kel said, now standing behind her.

She was ignoring him completely and picked up an axe. Right tool for the work, she thought, laughing with glee.

"Whoa, wait, wait, wait, you just removed a council axe from a council van. Put it back. No don't, wait - put the axe back in the van, that's my van, gimme the axe," Kel tried to convince her.

She still didn't care, but walked back to the freshly filled pothole, swinging the axe behind her, ready to bring it down on the road.

"No! Wait! No!" Kel yelled, but he didn't dare to stop her.

Well, it was too late anyway. She brought the axe down and smashed it through the tarmac.

"No! You- stop!"

 _Surely not. Not now._

"You just took a council axe - from a council van - and now you're digging up a council road! I'm reporting you to the council!"

Digging up council roads was actually a lot of fun, she noticed as she was scrabbling around in the hole she had just made. Finally, she found the pod. It was really small and felt strangely warm in her hands.

"It went for the hottest thing in the street. Your tar!" she said to Kel.

"What is it?!"

"It's a spaceship! Not a council spaceship, I'm afraid," she said with a smirk before she turned around and went back to Trish's house.

 **...**

"I found it!" she yelled as soon as she had entered the house. She headed right for the sitting room, where she found Trish. "I don't know what to do with it, but maybe the Isolus will just hop on board," she explained, but then realised that Trish was alone. "Hang on, I told you not to leave her!"

"My God. Er - what's going on here?" the voice of the commentator on the TV hit her ear. Trish turned up the volume, and both were watching. The stadium was empty. The whole crowd, all people had just vanished. Snatched. By the Isolus. Suddenly, Kel stood in the living room door.

"I don't care if you've got Snow White and the Seven Dwarves buried under there, you don't go digging up-"

"Shut up and look!" Rose said to him and pointed at the TV.

"The crowd has vanished! Er- um... they're gone. Everyone has gone. Thousands of people have just gone. Er... um... right in front of my eyes. Um... it's impossible! Bob, can we join you, um, in the box?", the commentator said. Then there was a few of the empty box. "Bob? Not you too, Bob?"

"The stadium won't be enough. The Isolus has four billion brothers and sisters," Rose said quietly.

The next moment she was running up the stairs again, Trish right behind her. She tried to open the door to Chloe's room, but it was blocked.

"Chloe?" her mother asked.

"Chloe, it's Rose! Open the door!" she said and tried the handle once more. "We found your ship! We can send you home!"

"Chloe?!"

"Open up!" Rose said, but to no avail. She turned to Trish, "Right, stand back."

Sometimes, violence was a solution indeed. She swung the axe again and smashed it against the door. The wood started to splinter, and she could hear the voice of Chloe's father again from inside the room. She continued in hitting the door with the axe, until the hole was large enough to fit her arm through. She shoved the chair away that was blocking the handle, opened the door and both of them were rushing into the room.

"Chloe!" Rose yelled. Now she could see what the child was drawing now. It was Earth. And it was almost finished, Chloe was already about colouring the land.

"I'm coming...," the voice of Chloe's dad could be heard.

"I've gotta stop her," Rose said and stepped closer to the wardrobe, but just right then the door rattled particularly violently and she almost jumped back.

"If you stop Chloe Webber, I will let him out. We will let him out together. I cannot be alone. It's not fair," the Isolus inside Chloe said.

Rose turned to her and showed her the little pod.

"Look, I've got your pod."

"The pod is dead."

"It- it only needs heat."

"It needs more than heat."

"What, then?"

"I'm not being funny or nothing, but that picture just moved," Rose heard Kel say, who had entered the room as well in the meantime.

Rose and Trish turned their heads to where he was pointing, and now Rose saw it as well. The picture with the Doctor, the TARDIS and Mira had changed. Rose picked it up. There was something new on it, a simple sketch of the Olympic Torch. The Doctor and Mira were both pointing at it.

"She didn't draw that. He did. But it needs more than heat, Doctor," Rose murmured. What did he mean? Fine, the torch meant heat, but obviously that's not enough. Her eyes fell on the TV as she was thinking.

"It's much more than a torch now, it's a beacon. It's a beacon of hope and fortitude and courage. And it's a beacon of love," the commentator announced.

"Love." Suddenly realisation hit her.

"So let's have a look from the helicopter - there we go, the torch running...," the commentator continued.

"I know how to charge up the pod," she said and left the house.

 **...**

She got out just in time to see the torch bearer appear. A lot of people were gathered now and she tried to get pass them, closer to the road and the torch bearer.

"Sorry, you'll have to watch from here," a police man tried to stop her.

"No, I've gotta get closer..."

"No way!"

"I can stop this from happening!"

But the police man didn't let her pass. Then, the torch bearer finally passed by, and the little pod in her hands suddenly lit up and began to vibrate slightly.

"You felt it, didn't you?" She backed out of the crowd, held the little pot close to her mouth and whispered to it, "Feel the love." Then she threw it in the air, afraid of missing the torch. But the pod was somehow drawn to it. As it landed on the torch, the torch bearer staggered slightly, but he continued on his way.

"Yes!" Rose yelled and jumped up and down in joy.

A few moments later she saw the shape of the little Isolus heading for the pod. Next to her she spotted Kel and threw her arms around him.

"You did it!" he said, and then, with confusion, "What was it you did?"

She didn't answer but grabbed him again and spun him around. Then, suddenly all the missing kids appeared again. Even the cat. There was only one who was still missing...

"Doctor..."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

The last moments – he couldn't say how long it had been – he had spent in some sort of comic-world, drawn by a child. He couldn't access the TARDIS; he couldn't do very much at all. Mira had been with him, but not Rose. But there had been something he was able to do, with the help of Mira and her psychic powers. And obviously it had worked. Rose must have gotten it right, as he suddenly reappeared in the real world, not far from where they had been snatched. It took only seconds for him to orientate himself, and as soon as he knew where they were, he dragged Mira with him to the crowd that was awaiting the torch bearer.

"The Isolus, it's there!" Mira yelled and pointed at the torch. "Rose did it!"

"Yeah!" he said cheerfully. Of course the pod couldn't be seen, but she must have felt the presence of the little Isolus. But something was wrong with the torch bearer, he was staggering quite a lot by now. The Doctor made his way through the crowd up to the front row, still dragging Mira with him. As soon as he was there, the poor man collapsed on the ground.

"What's wrong with him?" Mira asked.

"Exhausted? He's carrying the pod with him that's charging up right now. Nothing bad, I'm sure," he said and was about to get behind the barrier to gather the torch.

"Hey, wait! What are you doing?"

"Someone has to carry the torch," he said and turned his head to Mira. "Come!"

"But you can't-"

"Oh yes, I can!" he said and grinned. He was still holding her hand, and even though she was trying to hold him back at first, she soon gave in and followed him.

No one tried to stop him, and as soon as he picked up the torch, the crowd started to cheer.

"See?" he yelled at Mira over his shoulder. "Someone has to carry it!"

And so they did, right into the stadium, him holding the torch up high with one hand, and the fingers of his other hand intertwined with Mira's.

The whole stadium was screaming and cheering madly by now as he made his way up the stairs, followed by a spotlight. Oh these humans, they could be just great. Brilliant. If they decided for once to stick together and not to fight each other.

Once up the stairs, he stopped for a moment and turned around to the crowd.

"See? Sometimes all you need is a hand," he said to Mira, pulled her closer and smiled at her. Then he finally lit the Olympic Flame.

"Go on. Join your brothers and sisters. They'll be waiting," he said to the little pod.

The cheering got even louder, and, unseen by the crowd, the Isolus was rising up into the air.

"We made it!" he heard Mira yelling. She was smiling all over her face, seemingly a little bit overwhelmed by the joy of all the people in here. The next moment, they were hugging each other, with him carefully holding the torch to the side. And what a hug this was. He could feel her soft cheek against his own as she pulled back a little to look him in the eyes. Her's were filled with warmth and sparkling with all the love and hope she was surrounded by. He suddenly realised how beautiful she was, with that smile of happiness on her face. Well, he had realised that earlier on, somehow. But he hadn't really cared about it. Okay, maybe every now and then he had. But he wasn't that obsessed with it as some humans were. Not all the time at least. Or maybe in a more abstract way. There was a lot of beauty in this universe, if one was able to see it, beauty that went way beneath the surface.

Suddenly, before he knew what he was doing, he could feel her soft and warm lips on his.

Only for a short moment, then she finally let go of him. But it definitely had been a kiss. Not a _real_ one, but well, a kiss nevertheless. He couldn't even say who had kissed whom, instead he just blinked at her, quite dumbfounded. She was looking down to the floor, her face a bit blushed. Well, no matter who had started it, it had been a kiss. Right in the Olympic Stadium in front of a whole crowd of people. Had he kissed her? Or had it been the other way around? Had it been a _kiss_ at all? Or just some expression of happiness or friendship?

 **…**

Later they were back at the street where all had started.

"Cake?" he suddenly heard Rose's voice behind him. He turned around and saw her holding a cupcake in her hand.

"Top banana!" he said as he took it. It was delicious. "Mm. I can't stress this enough. Ball bearings you can eat – masterpiece!"

Rose looked at him for a moment, and he couldn't help himself, but the look on her face seemed to him somehow suspicious, then she threw her arms around him.

"Ooh, I thought I'd lost you."

"Nah! Not on a night like this! This is a night for lost things being found. Come on!" he said and let go of her.

Then he caught sight of Mira – she was standing a few feet away, looking intently into another direction.

"You too!" he said to Mira, and they were walking down the road together. All around them were happy people, celebrating the opening of the Olympic Games.

"What now?" Rose asked.

"I wanna go to the games! What we came for!" he said.

"Go on - give us a clue - which events do we do well in?"

"Well, I will tell you this: Papua New Guinea surprises everyone in the shot put."

"... Really? You're joking, aren't you?" she said and giggled. "Doctor, are you serious or are you joking?"

"Wait and see!"

They stopped and watched the firework above their heads.

"You know what; they keep on trying to split us up, but they never ever will, " Rose said, and he could hear how shaky her voice was. What was going on with her now?

"Never say never ever," he said, suddenly serious.

"Nah. We'll always be okay, you and me," Rose said. "Don't you reckon, Doctor?" she continued after a few moments.

He knew she was waiting for a reply, but there was something. He was looking up in the sky, and was certain that something was approaching. Something dark, something that would change everything.

"Something in the air. Something coming," he finally said, without looking at Rose or Mira.

"What?" Rose asked.

"A storm's approaching."

* * *

 _oxXgerogiaXxo, Althea-40, bored411, 10th Squad 3rd Seat: Thanks for reviewing :-)_


	39. Chapter 39 - The End of the Road

**Chapter XXXIX**

 _Mira's POV_

Mira was leaning against one of the columns in the console room, whilst Rose had engaged the Doctor in a conversation about some market they had been together.  
Rose knew it. Probably she had seen it on the TV, after all they had kissed in the bloody Olympic Stadium whilst lighting the Olympic Fire, in front of countless people and cameras. Probably in front of the whole planet. Rose hadn't said anything yet, but Mira could feel how she was boiling inwardly.

With this happened, things had become a whole lot more complicated. Not only between her and the Doctor, but also between the three of them.  
And she hadn't the slightest idea how this had happened. Had it been her kissing him? Well, most likely she would have kissed anyone in a situation like that, surrounded by all these people, being completely overwhelmed by their feelings. Well, almost anyone. Some of her friends, at least. The crux of the matter was that it hadn't been just a smack out of friendship - as much as she wanted to believe it. Even though it had only been a really short kiss, it had been tender and full of affection. Not like the smack you occasionally give to close friends.

She shouldn't have done it. She really shouldn't. Even if it had been him kissing her, she should have turned her head or something like that. So much for being companions, and only companions. Great.  
And if that wouldn't have been bad enough, there was a part of her that wanted to repeat it; properly the next time. Not that short, semi-smack-kissing-thing.

 _No bloody way._

She looked up and met his eyes. He was standing on the opposite site of the console, and Rose was still telling him something, trying hard to sound as normal as possible.  
Oh hell, he wasn't reading her thoughts, was he? She still wasn't sure if he could do that over a distance. Hopefully not. If she only knew what he was feeling about all this. It would have been much easier if she would be able to tell if it meant anything to him. But his emotions were still a black box to her.

"Good night," she suddenly said, pushed herself away from the column and left the console room hastily. She had to get out of here, away from him, to get things straight in her mind.

"Night!" she heard the Doctor say and felt his eyes on her back until she was out of his sight.

 **...**

She headed for her room. At first, her steps had almost let her to the observatory, but he would surely join her there, and this time she really wanted to be alone.

Once in her room, she took a shower and was then lying on her bed. She didn't believe she could sleep now, but walking around in the TARDIS wasn't an option.

Why couldn't they have met in her universe? Everything would have been different then. Would it? She would have had the option to leave everything behind to travel with him for a while. At the same time she knew that would have been impossible. She had to many duties, to many responsibilities back home. There always was so much more at stake than her personal fate and happiness. Not that she was complaining about that – it seemed to be her destiny and she had accepted it. It wasn't all that bad, but nevertheless, sometimes she was dreaming about living a life just like anyone else.

She finally fell asleep, only to wake up a few hours later from a very bad dream. One of _these_ dreams – the second one in a short time. Normally, she was used to having these dreams once a year or so. But just recently it had been the one with the black-hole, and now it was about Rose. Something terrible was about to happen to her – and not only to her. The Doctor had felt it as well, she was sure by now that this was the storm he had talked about.

Apart from that, the fact that it was the second of these dreams within not even two weeks was slightly concerning. Maybe she was really getting more sensitive to these things the longer she was staying in the TARDIS. No wonder, with all this time travel. She wasn't entirely sure if she liked that – it was enough of a burden as it was, there really was no need for it getting even stronger. Maybe she should talk to the Doctor about it, it was his ship at least and he definitely was the specialist for all these time-things. But she abandoned this thought immediately. Well, at least she had to tell him about the dream, even though there was most likely nothing they could do now. Whatever was about to happen was fixed. Just like their arrival on Kroptor had been.

She got out of the bed, put on her usual black clothes and opened the door. She looked carefully into the corridor, but there was no sign of the Doctor or Rose. She really needed a coffee _before_ she was able to deal with either of them.

Luckily, the kitchen was as empty as the corridor. She made a whole pot and finally sat down on the table with a large cup.

At least she did come to a conclusion regarding the kiss-situation. Probably pretending it had never happened was for the best. If he wouldn't bring it up, she would ignore it as well. No need to complicate things even more. She watched the coffee rotate in her mug as she was slightly moving it in small circles. Just slightly enough that it wouldn't spill over...

"Ah! I thought you were sleeping!"

She almost jumped off the chair and the coffee finally spilled all over the table and her hand. Her head flung around, but she already knew who was standing behind her. She took a deep breath to slow her racing heartbeat.

 _Never sit with your back to the door, and that is exactly why._

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that," the Doctor said and grabbed a towel. "You didn't burn your hand, did you?"

"No, wasn't that hot anymore," she said and shook her hand. "Just stop sneaking up at me like this. Really." Well, it still was hot, but not hot enough to actually scald her skin.

"I wasn't sneaking." The next second he was holding her hand and examined it closely.

"Hey, I said nothing happened. It's fine," she insisted and pulled her hand out of his grip.

"Sorry," he said and looked at her all innocent out of big, brown eyes.

 _Oh please, don't do that._

She took the towel from him, wiped the table and filled fresh coffee in her cup.

"Want some?" she asked the Doctor.

"Coffee? Nah. Tea would be fine, but not coffee," he said and started making tea.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

A few minutes later he sat at the table with Mira and a cup of tea in front of him. He watched her from the side as she was sloping the coffee around in the cup again. She seemed to be absent, and he could only guess why. Was it because of what had happened at the Stadium? Probably it didn't mean anything to her at all. Humans were basically kissing each other all the time. Their friends, children, loved ones... And it had only been a little kiss. Nothing like the one that Reinette had given him, which had been rather explicit and had left no room for interpretations.

Maybe he should talk to her about it. Maybe that's what she was waiting for. But what should he say?

"So," he said and Mira turned her head to him. Well, that was a start, but what now? Suddenly his head seemed to be as empty as the space between the galaxies. From one moment to the next he had completely forgotten what he wanted to say. Well, he still knew, but he just couldn't bring himself to actually saying it. "Um. Well, yes." He scratched the back of his neck. "So, what do you think of the blue waterfalls on Periolli VI? They're full of crystals. And there's a market, it's brilliant, so maybe we should go there next?" He grinned at her widely.

Great. Hadn't exactly gone as planned, but well.

"Rose is in danger," she said instead of answering his question.

"What!?" he looked at her closer. She seemed to be serious, had she felt the same thing as he had back on earth? But how could she know that it was about Rose?

"You've heard me. As you've said, a storm is coming. Something bad is going to happen, something really bad."

"To Rose?"

"Yes."

"How do you know that?" He already knew the answer. And since Kroptor and the black-hole, he knew that he should better listen to her. He still felt terribly sorry for what had happened at the base. "Another dream?"

She nodded. "It's not only about Rose, something will happen to all of us. But she's particularly in danger. I don't know if she's about to die, but..." She paused for a moment. "Maybe the Beast was right."

"What is going to happen? And when?"

"I don't know."

Well, she had told him that most of the times she didn't know what would happen. That she just didn't understand these dreams. But she had also said she only had this dreams rarely. Twice in that short time wasn't really rarely, was it? He saw the scepticism in her eyes. No wonder, after he hadn't believed her the last time she had told him about her dreams.

"Look-" he started to say, but got interrupted.

"Take her home," Mira said suddenly. "Most likely it won't change a thing, but at least we have to try it. She's not safe here. Take her back to Earth, to her mother. Please."

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

She had stayed with the Doctor in the console room for a little bit longer and then went to her room. She couldn't bare his presence, knowing that they actually had kissed. She had seen it on TV. How could they? Well, she had expected something like that from Mira, but not from him. Not from him of all people.

So, all their talking about there not being anything between them had been a lie. They had lied right to her face all the time.

Deep down inside she had known it. At least since Kroptor and the look the Doctor had given Mira. But seeing an actual kiss had made it much more real. And she had no idea what she could do about it. She had no options left. That's it.

She had spent the last hours in her room, walking around in circles and trying to figure out what to do next. Should she confront them? No. She had her pride as well.

As she headed for the kitchen to get something to drink, she heard voices from there. Slowly and quietly, she stepped a little bit closer to the kitchen door.

 _"Look-"_

 _"Take her home. Most likely it won't change a thing, but at least we have to try it. She's not safe here. Take her back to Earth, to her mother. Please."_

That was Mira's voice. Bitch. She had told him everything, hadn't she? She finally wanted to get rid of her.

 _"Do you really think so? Well, maybe it's for the best. But-"_ the Doctor started.

She didn't need to hear more. The next moment she stormed into the kitchen.

Mira's and the Doctor's head flung around her.

 _Caught red handed, huh?_

"I want to know what the hell is going on. Now!" she yelled at them.

"What? What should be going on?" he asked in return as if really not knowing what she was taking about, making her even more angry.

"Oh stop it. The whole dammed world could see it!"

"Rose, please, calm down. It was just a kiss, it didn't mean anything!" Mira said.

"Didn't it?" the Doctor fell in and looked at Mira. "It didn't," he hurried to say as he saw the look on her face.

"Shut up, I'm not talking with you! You're lying anyway. It was your plan all along to get rid of me! The whole 'I won't tell him anything, I don't want to take anything away from you' thing. As if." Rose yelled at her, and the next moment she immediately regretted it and covered her mouth with her hand. Had she said to much?

"Tell me what?" the Doctor asked and stood up.

Rose took a step backwards, away from the Doctor who was approaching her. "No- Nothing," she stammered.

"No, no. That didn't sound like nothing," he said and glared at her.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor turned his head to Mira, who was still sitting at the table, as Rose lowered her gaze.

"Mira, what didn't you tell me?"

"Nothing," she said.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Well, at least for once they were agreeing with each other. But had it to be right now of all times?

"One of you - and I don't care who - is going to tell me what you mean. Now."

He knew that they were keeping something from him – he had known it the whole time. And he was right. Mira was now leaning back in her chair, her arms crossed and looked at Rose intently. She was obviously not about to tell him what was going on.

"Rose?" She seemed to shrink under his glance and nestled with the sleeves of her sweater.

"Fine. We can spend the whole night here. Until one of you finally feels like talking." He leaned himself against the counter top, so he could see both of them. He didn't expect Mira to speak up, if she wanted to hide something she would most likely stick to it. But he had hoped that she would be honest to him, most of all after what had happened between them. Or did it really mean nothing to her?

"Does it matter now?" Rose said eventually, without looking at him. "You're going to bring me home anyway, I've heard it."

"Yes, because you're not safe here. Something's going to happen, I know it, Mira knows it, and even though I don't know what it will be, I probably can't protect you! So would you just tell me what happened?"

Rose finally looked up at him and he could see tears forming in her eyes. "I... It was on Kroptor. I.. I can't even remember what exactly happened, but I think I said something, and suddenly everyone was saying that Mira should stay behind and I... I didn't want that, honestly, I-"

"You did what?!" He stared at her in utter disbelief. Hadn't Mira told him she had suggested that everyone should stay behind so that the Beast couldn't escape? Hadn't this been the reason why she had stayed behind on her own?

"I didn't mean it, you have to believe me. But I thought you were... dead. I... I told them that Mira had seen it coming, this black-hole and everything, I mean, you yourself did accuse her that she betrayed you and... I was so angry, but you have to believe me, I didn't want that, please!" she hastily said, her voice shaking.

For a moment he could only stare at her, completely lost for words. No wonder that she had looked like the incarnate of a guilty conscience lately.

"Is that true?" he asked Mira.

She only nodded in response.

"Then why did you tell me it was your fault you were left behind?"

"Because maybe it was. I have no idea if the things Rose said made any difference," she said calmly, her eyes resting on him.

"I see. That's why it was 'none of my business'?" he asked her with sarcasm in his voice.

"It's a thing between her and me. Besides, I don't think she meant it. She was on edge, because-"

"So that's it? A thing between her and you? You could have died down there! And now you're defending her?" He shortly looked over to Rose, who was seemingly unsettled. "Did she mean it or not? I don't think _you_ of all people have to rely on guessing."

Mira looked at him for a moment, then lowered her gaze.

 _That's it. Enough is enough_.

He had forgiven Rose once, but obviously to no avail. She hadn't learned a thing of it. And it would probably just continue like this. He couldn't turn a blind eye to it any longer, no matter how much he wished to. Maybe it would have been different if Rose had told him. After all, he had asked her what had happened on Kroptor.

"Pack your things," he said to Rose as he walked pass her and out of the kitchen.

* * *

 _heroherondaletotherescue, InfinityMars, Carrera, rainbownarwhal, Don´t Define Me, oXxgeorgiaxXo, bored411, Ronin Kenshin, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, BringOnTheChaos95, aicia dayle , and Guest: Thanks for reading and reviewing :-)_


	40. Chapter 40 - Army of Ghosts Pt 1

**Chapter XL**

 _Mira's POV_

Mira looked after the Doctor as he left the kitchen. Rose was still standing next to the door, as their eyes met. The girl was completely stunned, but slowly there was hate growing inside her, as well as embarrassment and disgust. She didn't have to see it in her eyes, it was washing over her like a wave.

"Rose, I-"

But before she could finish the sentence, Rose was out of the door.

"Great," she murmured and buried her face in her hands. She really hadn't seen this coming. Well, just like the kiss. Maybe it had been wrong to leave the decision to Rose, but it just wasn't her style to let on things like that. At least Rose _should_ be old enough to act a little more sensible. And, above all, a part of her was even glad that this was finally over now. Maybe not so much about how it went – but things couldn't have been going on like this for much longer.

She looked at her coffee, put up the cup and took a sip. If there ever was a time for some damage control, than it was now. Or maybe, damage control was the wrong term. But she definitely had to talk to the Doctor. Rose couldn't stay here anyway, she herself and the Doctor knew it, although she still had doubts if any of the things to come could be changed now. For a short moment it came to her mind that probably this was exactly how it was supposed to happen. It felt almost as if foreboding did cast its dark shadow over her. Fine. Destiny would decide – or better speaking, already had decided - once more. All she could do now was to get herself and everyone else around her through the days or weeks to come as good as she was able to.

Eventually, she stood up and headed for the console room.

 **…**

She found the Doctor there, of course. Unfortunately, she had no idea if he held a grudge against her as well, but she certainly wouldn't apologise.

He had turned his back to her, doing something at the console. She had just leaned against the handrail, as he said without turning around, "You know, sometimes I really don't understand you."

"Me neither," she said quietly, leaving it in the open if she meant understanding him or herself. "I just wanted her to be able to _act_ rather than react. But obviously it didn't quite turn out as I had wanted it."

He finally turned around to her, leaning against the console, his arms crossed. "She can't stay. Not after everything that happened. Not with what's about to come," he said, as if to reassure himself.

For a long moment they looked at each other. In the dim light of the console room his eyes appeared almost black, plus, he occasionally had a habit of not blinking for an irritatingly long time. Just like now.

Suddenly, she felt the darkness rolling over her again. The dream had only been a hint, but now she definitely could feel that there was something coming. A storm. Not only a change, but something dark and final, an end. But to what?

"I don't think it'll change anything," she said eventually. "It has already started, you've felt it too."

"Well, there's always something that can be done. Well, most of the times at least. Besides, what's it with all the fatalism now?"

"What's wrong with fatalism?"

"You didn't sound like that on Kroptor."

"That was different. Besides, you of all people should be able to understand fatalism. What about fixed events? What if there sometimes really is no way to change what's about to happen?"

"Well, when I say fixed, than it's because things shouldn't be changed. They should happen. Should as in: Better not try to change them. I did never say it can't be done."

"Have you ever tried it?" she asked and looked at him.

Not for the first time she wondered how it must be to have a time machine, to see the past and the future and being able to change them. And she also wondered how mighty these Daleks must have been, if they were able to destroy his homeworld and kill everyone of his people but him. The thought almost made her shiver, and she hoped she would never run into them, ever. If they had survived at all. He had never told her.

"You know what?", she continued, "Actually, fatalism really isn't that bad. It reminds you that sometimes things happen which are just out of your influence. That not everything is evolving around yourself and that you just have to try and figure out your role in the big picture. Like right now. Not to waste your energy on things that can't be changed, instead just try to see. Have you never been in a situation that, had no matter how hard an how many different approaches you have tried, always came down to the same result?"

He frowned at her. "That almost sounds as if you believe in fate."

"Maybe?" She smiled sadly. "But I personally would prefer to say 'trust', not 'believe'."

"So you think everything we do is irrelevant?" he said in disbelief.

"I didn't say that. And fatalism definitely has its time and place. But if I have the choice between trusting in fate or coincidence, I would always choose fate."

He seemed as if he was about to answer as they both heard footsteps.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

Humans. Humans and their need to make sense out of everything. They just couldn't accept chaos and coincidence, they always had to make something out of it. Give everything a meaning. It really was a fascinating talent, but, unfortunately, they were wrong. If every now and then a red car was driving by the same time their phone was ringing, they would state that it had to mean something. They just always wanted to see connections where there were none. Of course, somehow the red car and the phone ringing was connected, because it was part of the same universe. It had all been the same energy in the beginning, but there was no deeper _meaning_ to it. Somehow he had always blamed this behaviour on their incredible short life expectancy, and a little bit on their tiny little human brains as well. Maybe they just needed it to explain the universe, to not get lost in all its eternity.

All the more it was astonishing that Mira, after all her almost sixteen-hundred years of existence, and with all her scientific background, was still able to trust in these things. He just wondered how much. After all she had been through, he would rather have expected her to be bitter than still being able to trust in fate.

He really would have liked to continue their conversation – he was definitely missing conversations like that – but Rose showed up. She was carrying a large, red rucksack and looking really miserable. He didn't want it to end like that. But nevertheless, as much as he wanted it, he also couldn't find it in himself to feel sorry for her. At least not as much as he probably should. They'd had a really good time together. He had no idea what would have become of him if he had continued to travel alone. If he hadn't met her. At the same time he felt guilty. She had wanted something that he couldn't give her, and instead of being clear to her from the beginning, he had just remained silent. Had hoped that she would get the right idea on her own eventually.

But now it was over. Even if Mira was right and they couldn't do anything to prevent what's about to happen, he could at least give back her life to her. Give her the chance to find someone, another human, to spend her life with. She would forget about him some day, go on with her life and be happy. Just like his other companions.

 _Most of them._

Maybe not Sarah. But all the others who had decided to leave him, and broken his hearts every single time. Just like Rose now, but for different reasons. He was really deeply disappointed by her behaviour, even if he could understand it to an extend.

There was no need for words. Everything that could have said had been said, at least from his point of view. He had already programmed the coordinates, and now he put the TARDIS into flight mode. Even she seemed to be sad, but he couldn't help it by now.

As the engines stopped, he opened the door and looked at Rose. They had landed on a playground next to the Powell Estate.

"Would you," she started and cleared her throat, "Would you come... at least to the door. Just to say goodbye?" she said, and shortly looked over to Mira, then back to him.

"Rose, I-"

"Please."

He really didn't want to. He hated goodbyes, as well as the thought of bumping into Jackie right now. But... "Fine."

He would just walk with her to the door of her flat. Nothing more. He put on his cloak, and they walked in silence to the entrance and up. Rose unlocked the door, and as he was about to turn around, Jackie literally burst out.

"Oh, I don't know why you bother with that phone! You never use it!" she said and threw her arms around Rose, who hardly returned the hug. Jackie must have realised that, because she almost instantly pulled back and looked at her. "What's wrong sweetheart?"

"I... Nothing, just..."

"She's staying here with you now," he said quietly as Jackie gazed at him.

"What? Why? What happened? And where is... Oh, that skinny girl. What's her name?"

"Mira. She's waiting in the TARDIS," he replied.

Jackie looked from him to Rose and back. "Okay. What have you done to her? What happened?"

He scratched the back of his neck and said, "Nothing. I'll have to go," and was about to turn around.

"Oh no, you wait. Rose! What is it?"

"Mum! Please, it's just...," she said, and then turned to him. "Do you maybe... want a cup of tea?"

"Rose, I-"

"Oh that's a good idea!" Jackie yelled. "I've got a surprise for you! It'll cheer you up a bit. Guess who's coming to visit? You're just in time - he'll be here at ten past! Who do you think it is?"

"I don't know."

He used the moment to finally and slowly retreat.

"Oh go on, guess!"

"No, I hate guessing. Just tell me."

He had almost make it back to the lift by now.

"It's your granddad. Granddad Prentice. He's on his way. Any minute!"

"What? But... he passed away. His heart gave out. Do you remember that?"

"Course I do!"

 _What?_

He stopped for a moment to listen.

"Then how can he come back?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself? Oi, you stay!" She had finally noticed his disappearance. Well, he had planned on getting into the lift, but now... If a long dead granddad was about to return, he really should look into it, shouldn't he? He went back and Jackie waved him and Rose into the flat and closed the door behind them.

"Ten past. Here he comes," she said and went to the kitchen.

And then, right in front of his eyes, a figure stepped out of nowhere in the middle of the kitchen. It was a scheme that resembled a humanoid shape, but apart from that, he couldn't really tell what or who it was.

"Here we are, then!" Jackie said. "Dad... say hello to Rose. Ain't she grown?"

She was obviously thinking it was the ghost of her long dead father. But how? To him it was more than clear that this wasn't a ghost. But what then? He instantly ran back into the staircase, down and out through a side door, Rose on his heals. They were everywhere.

"They're everywhere!" Rose pointed out the obvious. Suddenly, he was joined by Mira. She must have been outside the TARDIS as this had all started.

"What are they?"

"Look out!" Rose yelled, and not a second later one of these figures passed right through him. It was weird, but it definitely didn't harm him.

"They haven't got long. Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They're about to fade," Jackie explained.

"What do you mean, _shift_? Since when did ghosts have shifts? Since when did shifts have ghosts? What's going on?" he wondered.

"What? They're ghosts? Really?" Mira asked and looked around in confusion.

"Oh, he's not happy when I know more than him, is he?" Jackie said to him.

"But no one's running or screaming or freaking out or-"

"Why should we?" Jackie asked and checked her watch. "Here we go. Twelve minutes past."

And, in that very second, the ghosts disappeared. They had definitely looked like ghosts, he gave them that. But he was sure they weren't. He had never seen an actual ghost, not once. There had always been another explanation.

He followed Jackie back to the flat and a few moments later he was sitting on the floor, in front of the television, Mira next to him, Jackie and Rose were sitting behind him on the sofa. There was a program called 'Ghostwatch'. It almost seemed as if the whole planet had gone mad.

"On today's Ghostwatch, claims that some of the ghosts are starting to talk, and there seems to be a regular formation gathering around Westminster Bridge," the presenter announced, followed by footage of ghosts on Westminster Bridge. "It's almost like a military display..."

"What the hell's going on?" the Doctor murmured, his brows furrowed.

"These aren't actual ghosts, are they?" he heard Mira say, making him turn his head to her for a moment. She didn't believe in this ghost-thing, did she? He used the remote to change to a weather report, but instead of weather symbols there were little pictures of ghosts on the map of the UK.

The weatherman announced, "And tonight we're expecting very strong ghosts. From London, through the North and up into Scotland."

He changed the channel again to a chat show.

"So basically, Eileen, what you're telling me is, that you are in love with a ghost," the woman in the show said.

"He's MY ghost and I love him, 24/7!" Eileen said.

He changed the channel once more, but there were ghosts everywhere. Not a single program without ghosts.

"It's all over the world," he said after a while. He tried once more to find a channel without ghosts, but then he had enough and switched off the TV.

"When did it start?" he asked.

"Well first of all, Peggy heard this noise in the cellar, so she goes down-"

"No, I mean worldwide."

"Oh! That was about two months ago. Just happened. Woke up one morning, and there they all were - ghosts, everywhere. We all ran round screaming and that, whole planet was panicking... no sign of _you_ , thank you very much... then it sort of sank in. Took us time to realise that... we're lucky."

"What makes you think it's granddad?" Rose asked.

"Just feels like him. There's that smell, those old cigarettes. Can't you smell it?"

"I wish I could, mum, but I can't," Rose replied gently.

"You've got to make an effort. You've got to _want_ it, sweetheart."

"The more you want it, the stronger it gets?" he asked.

"Sort of, yeah."

"Like a psychic link. Course you want your old dad to be alive, but you're wishing him into existence. The ghosts are using that to pull themselves in."

"You're spoiling it," Jackie said.

"I'm sorry, Jackie, but there's no smell, there's no cigarettes. Just a memory."

"But if they're not ghosts, what are they, then?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, but they're human! You can see them - they _look_ human!" Jackie said.

"She's got a point. I mean, they're all sort of blurred, but they're definitely people," Rose fell in.

"Maybe not. They're pressing themselves into the surface of the world. But a footprint doesn't look like a boot," he said and stood up.

"What makes you so sure they aren't ghosts?" Mira asked quietly. She had stood up as well.

"You really believe in ghosts? Have you ever seen one?"

"No, not yet. But does that prove they're not existing?"

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

She was still shocked by the recent events. Her mind was still refusing to accept that she would stay behind on Earth now. All the more she hoped that now, with all the ghosts, she maybe would get another chance. At least he certainly wouldn't leave immediately. Not before he had solved whatever was going on.

"According to the paper, they've elected a ghost as MP for Leeds," she said to the Doctor, who was doing something underneath the TARDIS console. Mira was there as well, but she couldn't help that now. "Now don't tell me you're gonna sit back and do nothing." She watched as he popped up from underneath the console, wearing a rucksack and holding an odd looking device in his hands. It could have been a funny sight, but his face was all serious.

"I certainly will do something," he said, walked by her and went out of the door. She and Mira followed him, only to meet Jackie outside.

"When's the next shift?" he asked Jackie.

"Quarter to. But don't go causing trouble. What's that lot do?"

"Triangulates their point of origin."

"I don't suppose it's the Gelth?" Rose asked, remembering all to well how their last encounter with the Gelth went.

"Nah."

"Who are the Gelth?" Mira asked.

"A humanoid species who lost their bodies. They look like ghosts as well," he explained. "They were just coming through one little rift. This lot are transposing themselves over the whole planet. Like tracing paper."

"You're always doing this. Reducing it to science. Why can't it be real?" Jackie said, but the Doctor ignored her. "Just think of it, though... all the people we've lost - our families coming back home. Don't you think it's beautiful?" she continued.

He paused and looked at her for the first time. "I think it's horrific."

Ignoring her shocked look, he turned to Mira.

"Mira, give us a hand."

He started to unwind a cable, leading it into the TARDIS, Mira following him. Alright, he had obviously chosen to ignore her, Rose thought.

Inside the TARIDS, he plugged the cable into the console. Rose also entered the TARDIS, followed by Jackie who closed the door.

"As soon as it becomes activated, if that line goes into the red, press that button there. If it doesn't stop...," the Doctor was talking to Mira and held the Sonic right under her nose. "Setting 15B, hold it against the port, eight seconds and stop."

"15B, eight seconds," she repeated.

"If it goes into the blue, activate the deep scan on the left."

"And how do I do that?"

"Didn't I show you?"

"No."

"Ah, it's that one," he said and pointed seemingly randomly at the console.

"That?"

"Nah, close."

"This one?"

"Yeah!" he said and smiled widely at her. Rose felt as if her heart was braking, it was so different to the serious face he had given her earlier on.

"Now, what've we got? Two minutes to go?" he continued, looking over to Jackie.

"Yeah, two minutes."

He went outside, whilst Mira stayed in the TARDIS. Rose followed him, her mother behind her – again.

"What's the line doing?" he shouted through the open doors at Mira.

"It's all right, it's holding!" she yelled back.

"So, tell me Rose, what's going on here?" her mum suddenly asked her quietly.

"Mum, I said, nothing..."

"It's about them, isn't it? They're together?" Jackie asked.

Rose looked at her, only to immediately lower her glance. She could feel tears in her eyes, and if there was one thing she wouldn't do right now, was starting to cry.

"I don't know," she said quietly.

"You had a fight?"

"Maybe... Yes. I think so."

"Oh Rose, sweetheart. I told you, a bloke is a bloke. Maybe it's for the best. There are plenty of other fish in the sea. You'll see! Don't you want children some day? Would that even be possible with him being an alien?"

"Mum, stop it!" she said and looked anxiously over to the Doctor. Hopefully he hadn't heard her, but he seemed to be busy with his devices.

"Mira, what's the scanner doing?" the Doctor yelled and interrupted their conversation.

"The scanner's working - it says "delta one six"," Mira yelled back.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor was facing the centre of the triangle. Now he would finally get some answers.

"Come on you beauty!"

Right at this moment a ghost was materialising in the centre. Immediately, the cones were connected with rays of blue electricity, which in turn connected over the head of the ghost.

He pulled out a pair of spectacles with one green and one red foil and focused on the ghost.

 _Almost there._

He made some adjustments on his equipment, causing the ghost to shudder and groan.

"Don't like that much, do you?" he laughed. "Who are you? Where are you coming from? WHOA!" He suddenly got hit by an electric shock from the ghost, making him stumble backwards.

"That's more like it! Not so friendly _now_ , are you?"

But of course, there was no response from the ghost. It just continued to shudder and jerk, until it finally disappeared. The Doctor immediately darted forward and began to gather his equipment. No he had to be quick, having the origin of the ghosts located. He hurried back to the TARDIS, not realising that not only Rose, but also Jackie was following him.

He threw his cloak over the railing inside the TARDIS, and yelled at Mira in excitement, "I said so! Those ghosts have been _forced_ into existence for one specific point! And I can track down the source. Allons-Y!"

"Well then, off we go," she said and smiled back at him, almost as excited as he was feeling.

He pulled down a lever and the TARDIS engines came to life.

"I like that. 'Allons-y'. I should say 'allons-y' more often. 'Allons-y'. Watch out, Mira Rhodan! Allons-y! And _then_ , it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Allonzo. Because then I could say, 'allons-y, Allonzo'! Every time! You're staring at me," he said, realising that Mira was looking at him with a strange expression on her face.

"Rose and Jackie are here," she said.

"So wha-"

Oh hell. Yeah. That hadn't been his plan.

"If we end up on Mars, I'm gonna kill you," Jackie said.

And, right now, he totally believed her. "No, not Mars. Definitely not Mars," he hurried to say and pulled a lever. The TARDIS had materialised and now they all could see on the screen that they were in some sort of storage area, with a lot of soldiers bursting into the room and getting into their positions.

"Oh, well there goes the advantage of surprise. Still! Cuts to the chase. Stay in here, look after Jackie," he said to Rose. He would certainly not take her with him now.

"I'm not looking after my mum!" Rose insisted.

"Well, you brought her!"

"I was kidnapped!" Jackie said indignantly.

"Doctor, they've got guns," Rose said as she had pushed by him and was standing in front of the door now.

He shot a quick look to Mira, who made every effort to appear uninvolved.

"And I haven't. Which makes me the better person, don't you think?" he said to her, caught her around the waist and moved her smoothly out of the way.

"They can shoot us dead, but the moral high-ground is ours," he said. Well, at least he hoped that Mira would accompany him. He opened the door and stepped through it, gladly realising that Mira was at his side.

* * *

 _Quasi-Stellar, Serendipity989, Jesse Wales, Ingridie, CrazyAnamarija, oXxgeorgiaxXo, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, bored411, Falling Right Side-Up, heroherondaletotherescue, Keeperofhounds and AxidentlGoddess: Thank you for leaving a review :-)_


	41. Chapter 41 - Army of Ghosts Pt 2

**Chapter XLI**

 _Mira's POV_

Of course she would leave the TARDIS together with the Doctor. No way she would stay behind and watch on the screen what was happening. She and the Doctor raised their hands as the soldiers aimed their weapons at them. Although she could feel right now that something was odd. The soldiers didn't seem to be particularly hostile. More cheerful. But, nevertheless, she decided it would be better to play along. Right at this moment, a blonde woman came running into the room, right through the bunch of soldiers and stopped in front of them.

"Oh...! Oh, how marvellous," she exclaimed and clapped. "Oh, very good. Superb. Happy day!" Now the soldiers were applauding as well.

"She knows you?" Mira whispered, but the Doctor only shrugged.

"Um. Thanks. Nice to meet you. I'm... the Doctor," he finally said as they stopped clapping, only to make them start clapping again.

Mira examined the woman closer. She was in her middle ages, and, at least in this universe and at this time, it didn't seem to be too common to wear something underneath a jacket. Well, apart from a bra, or she just had a good plastic surgeon.

"Oh, I should say! Hurray!" the woman replied.

"You... you've heard of me, then?"

"Well of course we have. And I have to say, if it wasn't for you, none of us would _be_ here. The Doctor _and_ the TARDIS...!" she said cheerfully and they all started to clap once more.

The Doctor waved for silence and said, "And... and... and you are?"

"Oh, plenty of time for that. And, according to the records, you're indeed not travelling alone. The Doctor and his companion. That's a pattern isn't it, right? So, who is she?"

" _I_ am Mira," she said. She could very well speak for herself.

"Ah. From Earth?"

"Yes."

"Future?" the woman asked after she had examined her appearance.

As if that hadn't been obvious somehow. "No," she said and tucked at her blue jacket. "1637. I thought the trousers and the jacket would give it away. But obviously I was wrong."

 _Great. What about holding your tongue for once?_

She shouldn't have said that, but something about the appearance of that woman was just provoking. Suddenly, the woman looked pass them and through the half open door of the TARDIS.

"There's another one. So, you're travelling with more people? Come on, there's no point hiding anything. Not from us."

The Doctor and Mira turned their heads around, and indeed, Jackie was standing behind them.

"Um... Yes! Sorry. Good point. She's just a bit shy, that's all," he said, grabbed Jackie by the upper arm and pulled her out.

"Rose Tyler," he said and looked at Jackie. "Hmm. She's _not_ the best I've ever had. Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins. A lot of that. And just last week, she stared into the heart of the Time Vortex and aged fifty-seven years. But she'll do."

"I'm 40!" Jackie said indignant.

"Deluded. Bless. I'll have to trade her in. Do you need anyone? She's very good at tea. Well, I say very good, I mean not bad. Well. I say not bad... anyway! Lead on. But not too fast. Her ankle's going."

The woman looked for a moment at Jackie before she turned around to lead the way. Mira and the Doctor were following, as well as Jackie, who hissed at the Doctor, "I'll show you where my ankle's going!"

Mira couldn't help herself but smirk at him. Well, he might have taken it a little too far this time. They were following the blonde woman through a doorway and down a corridor, whilst she kept on talking, "It was only a matter of time until you found us. And at last you've made it. I'd like to welcome you, Doctor."

She pushed open another doorway, and they entered a large factory floor, full with artefacts that could only be alien. Including a spaceship.

 _What the hell?_

"Welcome... to Torchwood," the woman said proudly.

"That's a Jathar Sunglider," the Doctor said and stared at the spaceship.

"Came down to Earth off the Shetland Islands ten years ago."

"What, did it crash?"

"No, we shot it down. It violated our airspace. Then we stripped it bare. The weapon that destroyed the Sycorax on Christmas Day? That was us! Now if you'd like to come with me."

"Always better to shoot first and then ask questions, hm?" Mira couldn't help herself. She didn't know if that was what had happened, but she had a certain suspicion.

The woman looked at her in surprise. "Well, as said, it violated our airspace."

"No wonder that humanity here hadn't come further by now," she whispered to the Doctor as they were following the woman. He just gave her an inscrutable glance. If humanity in her universe would have acted like that as they had found the crashed Arkon spaceship on the moon, they would have died out centuries ago. Killed themselves.

"The Torchwood Institute has a motto: "if it's alien, it's ours". Anything that comes from the sky - we strip it down, and we use it. For the good of the British Empire," Yvonne said.

 _British Empire?_

It was getting better any second. Someone here definitely was delusional, but certainly not Jackie. Right now, Mira really had to bite her tongue to not say something highly inappropriate. Or something that would not only put her in danger, but the Doctor and Jackie as well. Torchwood obviously was collecting alien technology, and she was wearing a piece they probably would be very interested in.

"For the good of the what?" Thankfully Jackie didn't seem to worry as much as Mira did.

"The British Empire."

"There _isn't_ a British Empire."

"Not yet. Ah, excuse me...," the woman said and took the weapon off a soldier. "Now, if you wouldn't mind... do you recognise this, Doctor?"

Mira looked at it as well. It seemed to be some sort of energy weapon.

"That's a particle gun," the Doctor said coldly.

"Good, isn't it?"

Jackie tried to touch it, but the woman quickly brought it out of her reach. "Took us eight years to get it to work...," she said.

"It's the twenty-first century. You can't _have_ particle guns," the Doctor said.

"We must defend our border against the alien." She gave the particle gun back to the soldier. "Thank you... Sebastian, isn't it?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Sebastian," she smiled at him. "I think it's VERY important to know everyone by name. Torchwood is a very modern organisation. People skills. That's what it's all about these days." she said to them. "I'm a people person."

"Oh, so shooting down alien spaceships is a people skill now? Say, what happened to the poor pilot?" Mira asked. Oh hell. She definitely had to separate her emotions from what she was getting from that nasty woman, or it would go horribly wrong.

"Have you got anyone called Allonzo?" the Doctor intervened.

"No, I don't think so. Is that important?"

"I suppose not. What was your name?" he asked and walked off to examine some of the other things that were stored here.

"Yvonne. Yvonne Hartman," she called after him.

He put out some large device, that could almost be some antigrav device for carrying things.

"Ah yes. Now, we're rather fond of these. The Magnaclamp. Found in a spaceship buried at the base of Mount Snowdon. Attach this to an object and it cancels the mass. I could use it to lift two tonnes of weight with a single hand. That's an imperial ton, by the way. Torchwood refuses to go metric," Yvonne explained.

"I could do with that to carry the shopping," Jackie said as the Doctor put it back.

Well, at least she was thinking practically.

"All these devices are for Torchwood's benefit. Not the general public's," Yvonne said as if talking to some stupid child.

Mira looked around herself. This certainly was heaven for anyone interested in alien technology. Or anyone who was in need of some of it. Such a shame that they had stripped the Sunglider. On the other hand, it probably was for the best if _this_ humanity wouldn't make it into space any time soon. At least not Torchwood.

"So, what about these ghosts?" the Doctor asked.

"As yes, the ghosts. They're er... what you might call a side effect."

"Of what?"

"All in good time, Doctor. There is an itinerary, trust me."

At this moment, the TARDIS was driven in on the back of a truck.

"Oi! Where're you taking that?" Jackie yelled.

"If it's alien, it's ours," Yvonne repeated, and Mira felt the sudden urge to slap her.

"You'll never get inside it," the Doctor said and looked after his ship.

"Hm! Et cetera," Yvonne replied and walked away.

Just then, the TARDIS door opened a crack and Rose peered out. The Doctor nodded at her, and she closed the door again.

They were walking behind Yvonne through another corridor, flanked by armed soldiers, as the Doctor asked, "All those times I've been on Earth, I'VE never heard of you."

"But of course not. You're the enemy. You're actually named in the Torchwood Foundation Charter of 1879 as an enemy of the Crown."

"1879... that was called Torchwood, that house in Scotland."

"That's right. Where you encountered Queen Victoria and the werewolf," Yvonne said.

"Oh shit. She really wasn't that fond of us in the end," Mira remembered.

"I think he makes half of it up," Jackie threw in.

"Her Majesty created the Torchwood Institute with the express intention of keeping Britain great. And fighting the alien horde."

"But if I'm the enemy, does that mean that I'm a prisoner?"

"Oh yes," Yvonne replied lightly.

They rounded a corner and stopped in front of a large, black door.

"But we'll make you perfectly comfortable. And there is so much you can teach us. Starting with this," she said, pressed her ID card against the digital lock and the door opened.

She followed Yvonne into a rather large hall. And then she saw it. It was a sphere of a strange grey colour. No, it wasn't a colour, it was more like the absence of any colour. And although it clearly was spherical, it seemed to be strangely flat. It was hovering a few feet above the ground, and she could immediately feel it. It didn't belong here. Just like herself, but in a different way. A very different way.

"Now, what do you make of that?" she heard Yvonne's voice like coming from a distance, because she was solely focused on the sphere.

Just as the Doctor was, he was gazing open mouthed at it, completely ignoring the scientist who was approaching.

"You must be the Doctor. Rajesh Singh. It's an honour, sir," he said and hold out his hand – in vain.

"Yeah...," the Doctor said, without looking at him. He was still staring at the sphere, just like Mira.

"What IS that thing?" Jackie asked.

"We got no idea," Yvonne said.

"But what's wrong with it?" Jackie wanted to know.

"What makes you think there's something wrong with it?" Rajesh asked.

"I dunno... just feels weird."

"Bloody hell," Mira finally whispered and walked closer to the sphere. "That can't be."

"Well, but it is. Don't worry, the sphere has that effect on everyone. Makes you wanna run and hide. Like it's forbidden," Yvonne said to Mira and Jackie.

"We tried analysing it using every device imaginable," Rajesh explained. "But - according to our instruments - the sphere doesn't exist. It weighs nothing. It doesn't age. No heat. No radiation. And - has no atomic mass."

She had expected that. Well, almost. Hearing it was still a bit of a shock.

"But I can see it!" Jackie insisted.

"Fascinating, isn't it? It upsets people because it gives off... nothing. It is... absent," Rajesh said.

"It's not absent. It only has no dimensions," Mira finally said quietly.

"Yeah, as said, basically it doesn't exist. Yet it's here," Rajesh said.

"I don't think you understand," she replied absently, watching the Doctor who had put on his weird 3D specs and was examining the sphere closer. Then she turned her head to Rajesh. "It has no dimensions. The mere definition of this universe – the existence of dimensions like time and space – doesn't apply to it." She was searching for a trace of understanding in his face, but she could feel that he wasn't getting it. He was certainly brilliant, but he was missing one crucial detail.

"So? What does that mean?" he finally asked.

She looked at him and considered if she should tell him. Probably not. On the other hand, they already had enough alien technology here to cause severe damage to the world.

"This is a Void Ship," the Doctor finally said, as quietly as she had been talking, and took the decision out of her hands.

"And what is that?" Yvonne asked.

Mira turned to the Doctor, who was folding away his specs. She was as eager to hear his answer as Yvonne and Rajesh were. Eager to have her thoughts confirmed. This couldn't be true. No way this could ever be true.

"Well, it's impossible for starters. I always thought it was just a theory, but... it's a vessel designed to exist outside time and space. Just as Mira said. It's not part of any universe. It's meant for travelling through the Void," he said worriedly and sat down on the bottom of the steps that were leading to the ship.

Mira was still standing, looking to the ship, her arms crossed because her hands had started to shake by now. A Void Ship. Meant to travel between the universes. She was certain now that this could be _the_ way back home. Probably the only way back for her. Was it all coming down to this now? How did the ship get here in the first place? Who had brought it?

"And what's 'the Void'?" Rajesh asked.

"The space between dimensions. There's all sorts of realities around us, different dimensions - billions of parallel universes all stacked up against each other. The Void is the space in-between. Containing absolutely nothing. Imagine that - nothing. No light, no dark, no up, no down. No life. No time. Without end. My people called it the Void, the Eternals call it the Howling. But some people call it Hell," the Doctor answered.

"But someone built the sphere. What for? Why go there?" Rajesh asked.

Good question, Mira thought and smiled slightly. Why not?

"To explore. To escape. You could sit inside that thing and eternity would pass you by. The Big Bang... end of the universe, start of the next, wouldn't even touch the sides. You'd exist outside the whole of creation," the Doctor said.

"You see, we were right. There is something inside it," Yvonne said smugly.

"Oh yes," the Doctor replied, looking right at her.

"So how do we get in there?" Rajesh asked.

The Doctor suddenly jumped up and said, "We don't! We send that thing back into Hell. How did it get here in the first place?"

 _What? Wait. Back to hell? Certainly not._

She had been captivated by the sphere but his statement snapped her out of it.

"Well, that's how it all started. The sphere came through into this world, and the ghosts followed in its wake," Yvonne said.

"Show me," the Doctor said and was about to storm out, but she caught hold of his arm.

"A word, Doctor," she said, and something in her voice or her eyes – she couldn't say what it was - made im stop dead in his tracks. She dragged him through a door into a small office on one side of the room. A window was in the wall between the office and the hall with the sphere, but she didn't care if they would watch them and slammed the door shut.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He knew that this was about to come, from the first moment he had seen the Void Ship. And he also knew that she would be able to identify it just as quick as him. But he was hoping to postpone the discussion that was now about to happen; or to avoid it completely. Somehow he even did dare to hope she would be able to see that this was impossible.

"Why, for all planets, do you want to send it back to 'Hell'?" she yelled at him as soon as she had slammed the door shut. He took a quick look through the window – Jackie, Yvonne and Rajesh were watching, whilst he was thinking about what to say. Then he looked back at Mira. She was really upset, he could see how her hands were shaking, even though she was trying to hide it. And not only upset, but enraged as well, judging from the look in her eyes. He really should say something, and do so fast, or she would certainly lose her temper.

"Mira, you know as well as I do, that this ship doesn't belong here. It's dangerous, it-"

"Dangerous? What the hell? You're not sending it anywhere. If you want it gone, fine. Let me take it and it'll be gone. As you might have forgotten, I don't belong here as well!"

"Oh, let you take it? Seriously? They can't even open it. There's something inside, we don't know what. And, apart from that, what makes you think you can fly a Void Ship? You've just _tried_ to fly a TARDIS, but don't you think that qualifies you to-"

"That's certainly not your problem," she replied, suddenly all calm. Almost dangerously calm. Her hands were still shaking slightly, but that didn't change the impression she was giving. Suddenly she didn't look like a young woman, but like the immortal, sixteen-hundred year old being that she was. He couldn't put is finger on it, but something about her posture, her eyes and her face had changed. Her facial expression and the look in her eyes now was completely at odds with her young features. He was wondering if other humans were able to see that as well or if it was just him. And he was afraid he probably won't be able to stop her, if she really was about to try to get home with the Void Ship.

"Mira," he tried to reason with her and slowly approached her, causing her to take a step back. "You're old, even older than I am. You certainly have a lot of experience. You _must_ be able to see that this will never work. That's way beyond everything you and I know. You'll never make it. You'll die, or get lost in the Void, you-"

"I rather die trying," she said quietly.

"What!?"

"I said I rather die trying."

"Rather than what?" For a moment his eyes were locked with her's, and he could see all that deep sadness and despair again, she was trying to hide all the time. Then she looked away and slightly shook her head.

"Mira, talk to me, please. I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

She drew a shaky breath and crossed her arms again. Then, as he was almost certain that she would remain silent, she said, "Rather than staying in a universe that reminds me every waking second that it's not mine. That constantly reminds me that I'm not a part of it, that I don't belong in here."

She glared at him defiantly, but he could see that she was only trying to hide her true feelings. Not very successfully.

"I know you miss your friends, your world. Trust me, if anyone can understand that, it's me," he said gently. "But running into your certain death is not the answer. I mean, it's not _that_ bad here, is it? There's Earth, and humans, and-" He stopped as he saw the look in her eyes. "What? That's not it, is it?"

"No, it-" she began and was obviously searching for words, "It's shifted. Everything here. Down to the smallest particle. There are no two universes that are exactly the same, you of all people should know that. I can feel it. It _feels_ wrong. We're on a planet that looks like Earth, but it's not mine. With people on it who look human, but aren't my people. _I_ shouldn't be here. And I rather die whilst trying to get home than being forced to stay here _for ever_."

He hadn't expected that. Well, he knew about her abilities, her sense for the universe, but he hadn't been aware how much she obviously was suffering. It hurt him, and it hurt him almost as much that she hadn't turned to him, but would rather go through all this alone.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, still somehow dumbfounded.

"What for? Things are as they are, it wouldn't have changed anything," she said quietly, her eyes turned to the floor.

Now he was not only stunned, but absolutely heartstricken. No, it certainly wouldn't have changed a thing, but he could have been there for her. But she obviously didn't want that. Had it been like that all the time or was it because what he had done and said on Kroptor? Right now, he wasn't sure he knew her at all. What else was going on in her head that she wasn't telling him or anyone else? Anyway, he couldn't let her do that, it was just too dangerous.

"Mira, listen. We'll find another way. If there is one, and you seem to be certain about that, we'll find it. But that Void Ship isn't the answer. Even if it opens, it's too dangerous. You would only run into your certain death, and I won't let you do that."

He watched her as his words sunk in. She looked at him as if she was seeing him for the first time, and the expression on her face went from bewilderment to anger.

"You can't let me?" she asked and slightly shook her head in disbelief. "I can't remember asking you for your permission. But, in case you haven't gotten it by now, that ship _is_ the way back. Maybe that's the only chance I have, and you certainly won't try to stop me."

"That ship isn't a chance. It's not even a plan, it's madness. It's your certain death and I won't let you kill yourself. It's so way above everything not only your people, but even my people have ever-"

"What makes you think it's your decision?" she yelled at him before he could finish the sentence.

Well, that was a valid question, somehow. He just won't let someone - anyone - kill themselves or even worse, get lost in the Void. And certainly not her. It was not only because he wanted to keep her at his side, this would have been selfish, but...

"I... Because I..." Now it was his turn to search for words. He looked at her for a long moment and she looked back, inviting him to continue. He ran his hand through his hair, before he shoved his hands into his pockets because he suddenly didn't know what else to do with them.  
"Because I care for you," he eventually said quietly. Now he had said it. Of course, caring for someone could mean a lot of things, but it had been as clear as he was able to say it. And it was true, even though she could really drive him mad sometimes, but even that he liked about her. Mira on the other hand looked like she just had been slapped.

"What!? You _care_ for me? Don't ever say that again! You hardly know me! Is it because we kissed? Great timing for bringing it up, I have to give you that," she said, her voice shaky.

He couldn't help himself but she seemed to feel somehow cornered. Cornered and frightened.

"No, apparently I don't know you. But I want to. And I want to help you, but-" he pointed through the window at the sphere, carefully avoiding the kiss-topic, just as she interrupted him.

"Then help me now. I _can't_ stay here, I told you. I can't leave everyone behind, and even more so without them knowing what happened, not-" She suddenly stopped as if she had already said to much.

"Again?"

"Don't go there," she warned him.

"Why not? Have you ever give it a thought that maybe these things are clouding your judgement now?"

"Clouding my judgement? Seriously? I don't think I've ever seen things clearer than I do now. Help me or not, I don't care. But I won't let you stop me."

With that said, she walked pass him and out of the small office, leaving the door open behind her. He rubbed his face and then followed her. She was about to do something stupid, and he could only hope to stop her before something really bad would happen. It was not only her life that was at stake, but the whole universe if things really went bad. Would she really go that far? Despite what she had said, he was convinced that she wasn't able to think straight right now. Not with what he knew about her past.

"Everything all right?" he heard Yvonne say to Mira, as he left the office as well.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" she replied.

"Well, I just thought... Anyway. Follow me, please."

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

A few minutes later they where at the top floor of the building. Yvonne led them to a white wall.

"The sphere came through here. A hole in the world," she explained.

Mira watched as the Doctor ran his hand over the empty white wall. She was still on edge, not only because of the Void Ship, but also with everything the Doctor had said. Well, she had had an argument, and she would stick to her plan no matter what, but what the hell had he meant by saying he did care for her? Wasn't it complicated enough already? They had crossed the line between them once already, and that was more than enough for her taste. But, to be honest, even before that she had told him too much. Too much about her and her past and she had only made herself vulnerable by doing so.

"Not active at the moment. But when we fire particle engines at that exact spot, the breech opens up," Yvonne added and pulled her out of her thoughts.

"How did you even find it?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, we were getting warning signs for years. A radar black-spot. So we built this place. Torchwood Tower. The breech was six hundred foot above sea level. It was on the only way to reach it."

"You built a skyscraper just to reach a spatial disturbance? How much money have you got?" he asked and put his strange 3D glasses on once more.

"Enough," Yvonne replied.

The Doctor removed the specs, folded his arms and looked thoughtfully at the wall as Yvonne walked away.

"So much for 'the universes are sealed', hm?" Mira asked him quietly.

"It's a hole in the fabric of reality. It shouldn't be here, it-" he said as quietly, but got interrupted by Jackie.

"Hold on a minute... we're in Canary Wharf! Must be! This building, it's Canary Wharf," she said.

"Well, that is the public name for it. But to those in the know, it's Torchwood," Yvonne replied.

"So, you find the breech, probe it, the sphere comes through. Six hundred feet above London, bam. It leaves a hole in the fabric of reality. And that hole, you think, "oh, shall we leave it alone? Shall we back off? Shall we play it safe?" Nah, you think "let's make it _bigger_!" the Doctor said to Yvonne after following her.

"It's a massive source of energy. If we can harness that power, we need never depend on the Middle East again. Britain will become truly independent. Look, you can see for yourself. Next Ghost Shift's in two minutes."

Independent? That was enough. This woman was infuriating from the first moment she had seen her, and now she couldn't stop herself any more.

"Britain will become independent? Your great British Empire? You know what really amazes me about you and Torchwood?" Mira asked Yvonne.

The other woman only shook her head slightly. She obviously had no clue.

"That, despite all the alien technology you've found, despite knowing that you're not alone in the universe now, despite knowing that some of these aliens might even be hostile, despite the assumption that probably a great deal of them isn't hostile but could help humanity, all you can think about is some small island and a wanna-be Empire!"

"Oi! It's not small!" Jackie said.

Well, fine, she had obviously hurt the pride of some people in here when it came to their country, but well. Yvonne on the other hand looked just shocked, but her expression was slowly turning to repulsion.

"But, in case you haven't noticed yet, there's a time for every civilisation when it'll be decided if they make it or not," Mira continued. "When their technological evolution exceeds their morals and their ethical evolution. You're right at this point now. All your dreams of a British Empire won't help you when the whole world lies in dust and ashes. You're intelligent, Yvonne. You know very well that this planet and most people on it will neither survive a third world war nor an alien attack. You may be able to shoot down single space ships. But have you ever thought what might happen if there's a whole fleet? You don't even have space ships of your own yet. So, if I were you, I really would stop provoking aliens as long as Earth is more or less defenceless. The only chance humanity has is to work together. But with people like you, this is certainly not going to happen." She could think of even more to say, but she caught the warning glance of the Doctor.

"Well, for you're here, and you're from the future, we'll obviously make it for a little longer," Yvonne finally said coldly and looked at her watch. "Ghost shift time, you'll excuse me." She left the office-space and entered the main area.

"Cancel it," the Doctor went after her.

"I don't think so."

"I'm warning you, cancel it," he said, now clearly angry.

"Oh, exactly as the legends would have it. The Doctor, lording it over us. Assuming alien authority over the rights of Man."

"Let me show you." He took out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it on one of the glass partition between the office and the main area. "Sphere comes through," he continued and activated the screwdriver. Instantly, there was a crack in the glass, extending as the Doctor continued to speak. "But when it made the hole, it cracked the world around it. The entire surface of this dimension, splintered. And that's how the ghosts get through. That's how they get everywhere. They're bleeding through the fault lines. Walking from their world, across the Void, and into yours. With the Human Race hoping and wishing and helping them along! But too many ghosts, and..." He placed his fingertip on the glass and the whole thing shattered, falling out of its frame.

"Well, in that case we'll have to be more careful," Yvonne said, and then to the staff, "Positions! Ghost Shift in one minute."

"Ms Hartman, I am asking you - please, don't do it," he tried to pursue her.

"We have done this a thousand times!"

"Then stop at a thousand!"

"We are in control of the ghosts. The levers can open the breech, but equally they can _close_ it."

They were staring at each other for a few moments, then the Doctor suddenly gave in. "Okay."

"Sorry?!" Yvonne said in disbelief.

"Never mind! As you were."

"What, is that it?"

"No! Fair enough. Said my bit. Don't mind me. Any chance of a cup of tea?" he said after he had sat down in a chair.

"Ghost Shift in twenty seconds," a woman of the staff announced.

Mira looked at her for a moment. Something was not quite right with them, but what?

"Mm! Can't WAIT to see it!" the Doctor said and drew her attention back at him and Yvonne.

"You can't stop us, Doctor," Yvonne said suspiciously.

"No, absolutely not! Pull up a chair, Rose! Mira! Come and watch the fireworks."

Jackie walked over to his chair, but Mira remained were she was standing, a few feet away from him, her armes crossed.

"Ghost Shift in ten seconds. Nine... eight..." the same woman as before announced.

Yvonne was still staring at the Doctor, obviously uneasy. Fascinating how reverse psychology was working every time. By now Mira was certain that Yvonne would stop the ghost shift.

"Seven... six... five... four... three... two..."

"Stop the shift. I said stop," Yvonne commanded.

"Thank you," the Doctor said and managed to give er a warm smile.

"I suppose it makes sense to get as much intelligence as possible. But the program will recommence, as soon as you've explained everything," she replied.

"I'm glad to be of help."

Yvonne had already turned around and said into the room, "And someone clear up this glass." Then she turned to the Doctor once more, "They did warn me, Doctor. They said you like to make a mess."

* * *

 _d0ct0rwh0l0ckf4n, time-twilight, AxidentlGoddess, Keeperofhounds, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, Falling Right Side-Up, oXxgergiaxXo, bored411, PiperRoseHalliwell, Jenba and Dove: Thanks for reviewing :-)_

 _Jesse Wales: Ouch? Is the sentence really that odd? XD If so, sorry. Sounds not that bad to me, but on the other hand, I'm not a native speaker._

 _Twinkitty2: I've already sent you a PM, but just in case someone else wants to know: I try to update at least every weekend._


	42. Chapter 42 - Army of Ghosts Pt 3

**Chapter XLII**

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor was sitting in a chair, his feet crossed on the desk and Yvonne sitting opposite to him. Jackie was standing behind him and Mira next to the window, looking outside. He had still no idea what she was planning to do with the Void Ship – if she had a plan at all yet.

"So these ghosts, whatever they are - did they build the sphere?" Yvonne asked.

He ignored how she looked at his feet and replied, "Must have. Aimed it at this dimension like a canon ball."

"But why invade another universe?" Mira said without turning around.

"You think that's an invasion?" Yvonne asked.

"Seems like one to me," Mira answered and turned around to face her. "At least they're all over the world. Maybe they're friendly. But if not, you definitely do have a problem. You really should stop this ghost-shift-thing until you know for certain."

The Doctor looked at her. Well, that would be a whole new problem. Not only that this universe itself has been damaged, but what if it really was an invasion?

Before Yvonne could answer, he heard Rajesh talk out of the laptop in front of her.

"Yvonne? I think you should see this. We've got a visitor. We don't know who she is, but funnily enough, she arrived at the same time as the Doctor."

Not good. That could only mean they had discovered Rose. Yvonne turned the laptop around and he could see for himself. It was Rose indeed.

"She one of yours?" Yvonne asked.

"Never seen her before in my life," he replied.

"Good! Then we can have her shot."

"Oh all right then, it'll be worth a try," he said and put his feet off the table. "That's... that's Rose Tyler."

"Sorry," Rose said and waved at him. "Hello!"

He waved back and smiled. At least she was alive and well, and had decided to take matters into her own hands. Just like in old times. Why did it have to end like this?

"Well, if that's Rose Tyler, who's _she_?" Yvonne asked and pointed at Jackie.

"I'm her mother."

"Oh, you travel with her mother?"

"He kidnapped me," Jackie stated.

"Please, when Torchwood comes to write my complete history, don't tell people I travelled through time and space with her mother...," he said and frowned. Great.

"Charming," Jackie said accusingly.

"I've got a reputation to uphold!"

Suddenly, the sound of the ghost shift engines starting up reached his ear. Yvonne stood up immediately and said to the staff, "Excuse me? Everyone? I thought I said stop the ghost shift."

But she was ignored.

"Who started the program? But- I ordered you to stop! Who's doing that?!" she tried it again, but to no avail."Step away from the monitors, everyone."

Still no reaction.

"Gareth, Addy - stop what you're doing, RIGHT NOW. Matt. Step away from your desk. That's an order! Stop the levers!"

Two scientists were rushing over and tried to push the levers down again.

"Stop the levers!" Yvonne cried.

Meanwhile, Mira had walked over to a woman working on one of the computers. "Something's wrong with them," she said to him as he followed her.

"What's _she_ doing?" he asked and looked at the woman.

"Addy? Step away from the desk," Yvonne said, now standing next to him.

He clicked his fingers in front of Addy's face, but there was no reaction. That was weird. Two ear-pieces? Where had he seen that before? Didn't they normally wear only one of these things?

"Listen to me. Step away from the desk," Yvonne tried it once more.

"She can't hear you," he finally said and looked at the computer screen.

"They're overriding the system." Mira had obviously come to the same conclusion as he.

"We're going into Ghost Shift," he said and then it suddenly stroke him. "It's the ear-piece controlling them. I've seen this before!" He took the sonic screwdriver from his pocket. "Sorry. I'm so sorry."

There was no way to help them, he knew it. And yet he hated what he was about to do. He hold the screwdriver to her ear-piece and activated it. Addy screamed in pain and then collapsed over the desk. She was dead now. Gareth and Matt screamed and collapsed just like Addy had, they were obviously connected through their ear-pieces.

"What happened? What did you just do?" Yvonne asked.

"You killed them," Jackie stated, quite shocked.

"Oh someone else did that long before I got here," he said sadly and turned to the computer. Well, she was right somehow and he really wished he could have helped them, but there just hadn't been time right now. Plus, he doubted that there would have been anything left to do. Their brains were too damaged already.

"But you killed them!" Jackie repeated.

"Jackie, don't. There was nothing left to do for them," Mira said to her.

"What're those ear-pieces?" Yvonne wanted to know and reached out for them.

"Don't," he warned her.

"But they're standard comm-devices - how does it control them?"

"Trust me, leave them alone," he said and walked over to another computer.

"But what are they?" Yvonne asked and the next moment she said disgusted, "Ugh! Oh, God! It goes inside their brain!"

Humans. They just had to touch everything. Well, not that he himself was any better.

"What about the Ghost Shift?" he asked.

"Ninety percent there. It's still running. Can't you stop it?" Yvonne replied.

"They're still controlling it. They've hi-jacked the system."

"Who's _they_?" Yvonne asked.

He caught eyes with Mira for a moment as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver again. The look on her face told her that she had the same suspicion like him. It hadn't been that long ago that they had encountered ear-pieces like that.

He held the screwdriver flat on the palm of his hand and turned slowly. They had to be somewhere in the building.

"It might be a remote transmitter but it's gotta be close by. I can trace it," he finally said, without answering Yvonne's question. "Jackie, stay here!" he said as he started to follow the signal.

Yvonne and Mira went after him. Some minutes later, they were walking down a corridor, as they passed two guards.

"You two - you come with us," Yvonne said to them.

He would rather not take them with him, they couldn't do anything if he really was right. They finally reached an area that seemed to be under construction, everything was covered with plastic foil.

"What's down here?" he asked.

"I don't... I dunno, I think it's building work. It's just renovations," Yvonne said.

"You should go back," he said to her. No need to endanger more people than necessary. Although it would be better if Mira stayed with him, so he could keep an eye on her.

"Think again," Yvonne replied and continued to follow him with the two soldiers. Finally he stopped and pushed some curtains aside as his sonic screwdriver started to bleep.

"What is it? What's down here?" Yvonne asked.

"Ear-pieces, ear-pods, this world is colliding with another. And I think I know which one," he said, his brows furrowed.

"Oh holly shit. Do you think-" Mira started to say, but suddenly the shadows of Cybermen standing behind the curtains surrounded them.

"What are they?" Yvonne whispered.

"They came through first," he said just as one of them slit the curtains with his hand. "The advance guard."

They all went a step back as the Cybermen started to approach them.

"Cybermen," Mira said eventually.

The soldiers started to shoot instantly, but it had no effect at all. He looked around and waved Yvonne and Mira to follow him so they could find another way for their escape, but they didn't come far. The Cybermen had already surrounded them. They had no other choice than to follow the Cybermen back into the Rift Chamber, their hands behind their heads. At least they hadn't killed them on sight.

As soon as they had reached the chamber, he yelled at the staff there, "Get away from the machines - do what they say, don't fight them!"

But it was too late for one of the scientists, he got shot by the Cybermen.

"What are they?" Jackie cried.

"We are the Cybermen. The Ghost Shift will be increased to one hundred percent," one of them announced. He clamped a fist to his chest and the lever started to move again. The wall was glowing so bright now that it was almost impossible to look at it.

"Online," a computer voice stated.

"Here come the ghosts," the Doctor said and looked at the wall, shadowing his eyes with his hand.

"These Cybermen - what've they got to do with the ghosts?" Jackie asked.

"Do you never listen? A footprint doesn't look like a boot!"

"Achieving full transfer," one of the Cybermen said.

"They're Cybermen. All of the ghosts are Cybermen," the Doctor explained to Jackie as more of the ghosts came walking from the light. Slowly they became more defined, and now it was clear to see who they really were. "Millions of them. Right across the world," he continued.

"You were right," Yvonne said to Mira. "They're invading the whole planet."

"It's not an invasion, it's too late for that," he said. There was another thing Mira had been right about. Humanity couldn't defend itself against an invasion like that. "It's a victory."

Suddenly, all their heads flung around as Yvonne's laptop started to bleep.

"Sphere activated. Sphere activated. Sphere activated. Sphere activated," a computer voice said.

"What?!" Mira said and took a step closer to the computer. "Where did that sphere come from? That's not your technology, is it? How did you do that?" she addressed the Cybermen.

The same thing he was about to ask. That was way beyond everything they had seen from the Cybermen so far.

"The sphere is not ours," one of the Cybermen finally confirmed.

"... What?" the Doctor said, quite stunned. Well, he had expected it, but actually hearing it made it seem a lot more real. So, there was another party involved. But who?

"The sphere broke down the barriers between worlds. We only followed. Its origin is unknown," the Cyberman continued.

"Then what's inside it...?" he wondered.

"Rose is down there," Jackie said, her voice shaking with fear.

"It's all our fault, isn't it?" Mira whispered next to him. He looked at her and saw the fear in her eyes. Clearly not what he had hoped to see there, and it definitely was unsettling.

"What do you mean?" he asked just as quietly.

"We led them here, didn't we? I mean, without us they wouldn't have known about this universe? And I said you should bring Rose back to Earth. And now she's down there, with that Ship..."

He looked at her for a long moment. Now there was not only fear in her eyes, but also guilt. Was she right? Did they lead them here? Probably. But it wasn't her fault that Rose was here now. They would have been here anyway. Cybermen invading Earth? No chance he could have missed that.

"We stopped them once," he finally said and took her hand. "We'll stop them again."

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

Well, it hadn't went too well. She had managed to find the psychic paper, got into the chamber with the sphere, but, unfortunately, Rajesh proved to be immune to the effect of the psychic paper. Then she had seen Mickey. At first she hadn't trusted her eyes, but it really was him. It was a pleasant surprise, although she had no idea what he was doing here. But it was dawning on her that something big and important was going on, when Mickey was here even though the Doctor had said that travel between the universes was impossible.

Now Rajesh had locked the door and she could do nothing but wait and pretend that she had no idea who Mickey was, which was hard enough. But she hadn't had to wait for too long.

"Yvonne, I thought you said the next Ghost Shift was cancelled," Rajesh said over the comm, but he got no answer. "What's going on?" he tried it again, "Yvonne?"

Suddenly, the whole room shuddered. Rose turned her head to the sphere, which seemed to be the origin of the disturbance.

"It can't be," Rajesh said who was standing next to her now, watching the sphere as well.

Just then there was another crash, and the whole Ship was shaking visibly.

 _Oh God, it's opening._

"It's active!" Rajesh whispered. "We've got a problem down here. Yvonne, can you hear me?" he tried to reach her again, but still got no answer. By now, the sphere was vibrating. "Yvonne, for God's sake - the sphere is active!" he said and rushed over to his computer. "The readings are going wild! It's got weight, it's got mass, an electromagnetic field - it exists!"

Suddenly there was another crush, making Rose turn her head to the door.

"The door's sealed. Automatic quarantine - we can't get out!" Rajesh yelled.

"It's all right, babe. We beat them before, we can beat them again. That's why I'm here. The fight goes on," Mickey said to her reassuringly.

"The fight against what?" she asked.

"What d'you think?" he replied and smirked at her.

They both tumbled as there were more crashes coming from the sphere, shaking the whole chamber.

"We had them beaten, but then they escaped. The Cybermen just vanished," Mickey explained, "They found a way through to this world, but - so did we."

"The Doctor said that was impossible," Rose said and stared at him. There was another crash from the sphere. It clearly was about to open. She just hoped it wouldn't explode or something like that.

"Yeah, well it's not the first time he's been wrong."

"What's inside that sphere?"

Another crash came from the sphere.

"No one knows. Cyber Leader, Cyber King, Emperor of the Cybermen... whatever it is...," he said and grinned, "He's dead meat."

"It's good to see you," Rose said with a smile and nudged him. It really was. Now more than ever. Although it would have been good as well if the Doctor was here now. She reached for the TARDIS key that was still hanging around her neck underneath her shirt. He hadn't wanted it back, had he? Maybe it wasn't as final as she had thought. Did he only want to teach her a lesson?

"Yeah. It's good to see you too," Mickey replied.

The sphere shook again.

"Can anyone hear me? Come on, I need help down here!" Rajesh hadn't given up to reach someone over the comm. "I need-"

Right at this moment, the sphere stopped vibrating and Rajesh joined them. Mickey removed his lab coat as well as his ear-piece.

"Here we go," he said, obviously ignoring the looks Rajesh gave him.

Then, cracks started to appear in the sphere, and light spilled out of them.

"I know what's in there. And I'm ready for them. I've got just the thing," Mickey continued and grabbed a weapon he must have hidden under a counter earlier. "This is gonna blast them to Hell."

"Samuel, what are you doing?!" Rajesh asked indignant.

"The name's Mickey. Mickey Smith. Defending the Earth," Mickey said and aimed the gun at the sphere.

Rose smiled shortly at him, then looked back at the sphere. It was parting now, and a moment later, figures started to emerge from it. Figures all too familiar to Rose.

"That's not Cybermen...," Mickey said perplexed.

"Oh my God," was all Rose could manage to say now.

"Location: Earth. Life forms detected. Exterminate!" one of the Daleks yelled as they had reached the ground. "Exterminate! Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!"

* * *

 _Just a short, in-between chapter this time, but a little bit earlier than next weekend :-)_

 _Guest (I guess you´re Jesse Wales): Ah, ok, and I thought I'd messed up the sentence somehow ;D_

 _10th Squad 3rd Seat, Wicken25, AxidentlGoddess, oXxgeorgiaxXo, bored411: Thanks for reviewing :-)_


	43. Chapter 43 - Doomsday Pt 1

**Chapter XLIII**

 _Rose's POV_

Rose could see the four Daleks advancing, constantly crying 'Exterminate!', their eyes talks pointing at them.

"Daleks!" she shouted at them.

Suddenly they stopped as if completely taken aback.

"You're called 'Daleks'," she continued.

The Daleks didn't respond, but continued observing her. She walked towards them, trying not to show how afraid she was right now. She could still remember all too well her last encounter with a Dalek. It seemed to be ages ago and with the Doctor still in his last regeneration. When she had thought all this – travelling with him – would never end.

"I know your name," she said and took the lab coat off she was still wearing. "Think about it - how can I know that? A Human... who knows about the Daleks. And the Time War. If you wanna know how, then keep us alive. That's all I'm asking. Me and my friends."

That was their only chance, and she begged it would work.

"Yeah, Daleks. Time War. Me too," Mickey fell in.

"Yeah. And me," Rajesh said.

Thankfully, they reacted so quickly, Rose thought, as the Daleks were still eyeing them.

"You will be necessary," one of them finally said, before turning to one of his companions, "Report - what is the status of the Genesis Ark?"

"Status - hibernation."

"Commence awakening."

"The Genesis Ark must be protected above all else."

Rose watched as one of the Dalek turned to the Genesis Arch and clamped its suction arm to the side of it.

"The Daleks - you said they were all dead," Mickey whispered to her.

"Never mind that - what the hell's a Genesis Ark?" she replied.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She should have gone back into the hall with the Void Ship, she had known it. Now she could only guess what was going on down there. And she was thinking about what the Doctor had said. Was the Void Ship really the reason why the Cybermen had come to this universe? Did it tear a hole in the universe? Certainly, whoever had built that ship, had found a way to prevent this, hadn't they? There was no point in having a Void Ship if the walls of the universe were destroyed by travelling with it.

"What's down there? She was in that room with the sphere. What's happened to Rose?" Jackie said in sorrow.

Mira looked over to the Doctor who was leaning against a wall. They were still surrounded by Cybermen, and to her it was a miracle that they hadn't been killed yet.

"I don't know," the Doctor said abruptly.

Jackie started to cry and he went over to her. Oh hell, Mira was really glad she didn't have children of her own. And that was exactly why. Well, at least one of the reasons. She would have died of sorrow by know in Jackies stead.

"I'll find her. I brought you here, I'll get you both out. You and your daughter. Jackie, look at me. Look at me," he told her, and she finally looked up and into his eyes. "I promise you. I give you my word."

Suddenly, a Cyberman was approaching Yvonne, who was sitting at her desk. "You will talk to your central world authority and order global surrender."

Mira couldn't help herself but had to laugh. It was a bitter, sarcastic laugh.

"What?" Yvonne had turned her head to her, as well as the Cyberman. "Do you think that's funny?"

"Sorry. I have a habit of doing that in the most inappropriate situations," she said. Well, that was true. She really had a habit to resort to sarcasm. "They _don't have_ a central world authority," she said to the Cyberman and then to Yvonne, "See, Yvonne, this is what I was trying to tell you all along. Stop doing things when you can't handle the consequences yet, because you still struggle with all your national states and the subsequent, stupid wars here on Earth. Don't touch things you don't understand." Now all the sarcasm was gone from her voice. "I really am sorry that you have to learn it the hart way." She looked down through the window at the now burning city. "Honestly, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience."

Before she could continue or Yvonne could reply anything, the Cyberman spoke again, "You have a central world authority now. I will speak on all global wavelengths."

 _Great._

She had seen it all before. Not exactly in this way, of course. But somehow it was always the same. Earth in her universe had also been invaded. She remembered all to well the day when the ships of the Council of the Seven had arrived over Earth. Out of nowhere. Earth had been united back then, and their technology was quite advanced, yet they didn't stand a chance. The one significant difference was that they hadn't planned to _upgrade_ humanity, only to make the whole galaxy part of their empire.

"This broadcast is for human kind," the Cyberman said, "Cybermen now occupy every land mass on this planet. But you need not fear. Cybermen will remove fear. Cybermen will remove sex and class and colour and creed. You will become identical. You will become like us."

Mira shivered. She would rather die than become one of them. With her at the window were now the Doctor, Jackie and Yvonne. All of them were looking outside.

"I ordered surrender," the Cyberman said.

"They're not taking instructions. Don't you understand? You're on every street - you're in their homes. You've got their children," the Doctor yelled at them. "Of course they're gonna fight!"

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

She was still in the Sphere Chamber with the Daleks. Well, at least they were still alive, but that could change quickly.

"Which of you is least important?" one of the Daleks asked in his screaming voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she said.

"Which of you is least important?" the Dalek repeated.

"No, we don't work like that. None of us."

"Designate the least important!" it demanded.

"This is my responsibility," Rajesh said and was about to step forward.

"No, don't!" She tried to hold him back, but he ignored her.

"I - I represent the Torchwood Institute. Anything you need, you... come through me. Leave these two alone," he said as he stood in front of the Daleks.

"You will kneel."

"What for?"

"Kneel."

Rajesh did what he was told and all Daleks directed their eye stalks on him. Rose hold her breath in fear of what was about to come. They wouldn't harm him, would they? At least he could provide them with information, it would be stupid to kill him now.

"The Daleks need information about current Earth history," the Dalek continued.

"Yeah well I can give you a certain amount of intelligence but nothing that will compromise Home Land security-"

"Speech is not necessary. We will extract brainwaves," the Dalek interrupted him, and then Daleks were approaching him, their suction arms pointed towards his head.

"Don't... I- I'll tell you everything you need. No. No!" Rajesh cried out in fear, but it was too late. The suction arms made contact with his head and he screamed before the Daleks crushed his skull. Mickey tried to run towards him, but Rose held him back.

As the Daleks were finished with him, his blackened corps fell to the ground, still smoking.

"His mind spoke of a second species invading Earth infected by the superstition of ghosts," one of them said.

"You didn't need to KILL him!" Rose yelled. She was filled with horror about the sudden and violent death of Rajesh and tried hard to keep herself together.

"Neither did we need him alive"

"Dalek Thay - investigate outside," another one of the Daleks said.

 _Dalek Thay?_

Since when had Daleks names?

"I obey," Dalek Thay said and left the chamber.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She was still standing with the others in the Rift Chamber and could do nothing but watch the Cybermen take over Earth.

"Scans detect unknown technology active within sphere chamber," one of them said.

"Cybermen will investigate," another answered.

After a few moments, the Cyberman said, "Units open visual link," and an image appeared on Yvonne's laptop.

"Visual contact established."

Mira looked closer. Now they would finally see what the hell was going on. It must be some storage area. Suddenly, a figure appeared in an open door and she couldn't help herself but to think of a huge pepper shaker. She immediately assumed it was a robot. She didn't think, not even for a second, that it could be armour or a space-suit of some sort. She turned her head to the Doctor to ask if he had seen something like that before, but she stopped as she saw the expression on his face. It was an expression of shock, fear and utter disbelief.

"Identify yourselves," the thing said, and Mira almost jumped because of its screaming voice. Her head flung back to the screen.

"You will identify first," one of the two Cybermen replied.

She was captured by the scene on the screen, so she forgot for a moment to think about why the Doctor had looked that shocked.

"State your identity," the robot insisted.

"You will identify first," the Cyberman replied.

"Identify!"

 _Oh hell, this can take a while._

Who were they? She was just about to finally ask the Doctor, as she heard the rest of the Cyberman's sentence, "... illogical, you will modify."

"Daleks do not take orders."

 _Daleks._

Suddenly her blood ran cold in her veins. _The_ Daleks? That _thing_ was a Dalek? She turned to the Doctor again, he looked even more shocked than a moment ago. No wonder. So they _did_ survive. And now they were on Earth. If ever a situation had gone from bad to worse, than this one right now.

"You have identified as Daleks," the Cyberman said.

"Outline resembles the _inferior_ species known as 'Cybermen'," the Dalek yelled.

"Rose said about the Daleks. She was terrified of them. What have they done to her, Doctor? Is she dead?" Jackie said to the Doctor.

Instead of answering he suddenly turned around to her and whispered something through gritted teeth.

"What did you-?" she whispered.

"Phone!"

She handed the phone over to the Doctor secretively, so that the Cybermen couldn't see it. He dialled a number and a moment later he whispered, "She's answered, she's alive."

Well, at least some good news, Mira thought, without any sarcasm this time.

"Why haven't they killed her?" he wondered.

"Well, don't complain!" Jackie said.

"They must need her for something."

"What do they want on Earth?" Mira asked

"The Genesis Ark?" the Doctor said instead of answering her question. He must have heard it through the phone.

"What-" she started but before she could finish the sentence, the conversation between the Dalek and the Cybermen continued.

"Our species our similar, though your design is inelegant," the Cyberman said.

"Daleks have no concept of elegance," the Dalek replied, with probably the worst modulated voice ever. So they were alive somewhere in that... suit, armour, or whatever it was.

"This is obvious. But consider - our technologies are compatible. Cybermen plus Daleks - together, we could upgrade the Universe."

"You propose an alliance?"

"This is correct."

 _Oh God, please not._

Right now she really was hoping that the Daleks and the Cybermen would start fighting each other, before they continued to do on Earth whatever they were about to do. Of course, getting caught in the crossfire was not what she was hoping for either – but with a little luck they would decimate each other a bit and buy humanity some time whilst doing so.

"Request denied," the Dalek yelled.

"Hostile elements will be deleted," the Cybermen announced and then opened fire at the Dalek.

To her horror, the energy rays from the Cybermen had no effect whatsoever. They were just bouncing off the metal hull.

"Exterminate!" the Dalek cried and opened fire as well. A glaring ray of energy hit the Cybermen, one after the other, and the screen suddenly went black.

"Open visual link," one of the Cybermen in the room commanded.

The screen lit up again, showing a Dalek in the hall where the Void Ship was.

"Daleks, be warned: you have declared war upon the Cybermen"

"This is not war. This is pest control," the Dalek replied.

"We have five million Cybermen. How many are you?"

"Four."

"You would destroy the Cybermen with _four_ Daleks?!"

"We would destroy the Cybermen with _one_ Dalek. You are superior in only one respect."

"What is that?"

"You are better at dying. Raise communications barrier!"

The screen went static.

This was almost preposterous. Two species arguing over invading Earth. If she hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes – and ears – she would have never believed it. Four Daleks. She utterly convinced that they would be able to destroy the Cybermen, if they really were the same Daleks who had killed the Doctor's people and destroyed his Home World.

"Lost her," the Doctor said and took the phone down.

"Quarantine the Sphere Chamber. Start emergency upgrading. Begin with these personnel," one of the Cybermen announced and suddenly all hell broke loose. She felt being grabbed by a Cyberman, just like the others.

"No, you can't do this! We surrendered! We surrendered!" Yvonne cried as they dragged her away.

Jackie had begun to shout as well, but they just didn't stop.

"This one's increased adrenaline suggests he has vital Dalek information," a Cyberman said, obviously meaning the Doctor. "And this one seems to possess tactical knowledge about the future," he – or she? - added and the Cyberman holding her in his grip stopped as well.

"You promised me! You gave me your word!" she heard Jackie scream at the Doctor.

"I'll think of something!" he yelled back as she was dragged out of sight.

Suddenly the Cybermen let go of them, but there was no way they could try to escape. The chamber was filled with Cybermen. But at least they could probably talk. She looked around. Telepathy would really be handy right now. _If_ they made it out of this alive she should really talk to him about that.

"So what now?" she asked him quietly. He didn't look much better than when he had first seen the Dalek on the screen.

"I don't know? I have to think of something."

"Well, then take your time...," she replied and looked out of the window. There was still fighting and occasional explosions.

"These Daleks... Are they the same as..." she added after a few moments. He didn't need to answer, the look in his eyes as he turned his head to her for a moment told her more than enough.

"But why of all things Earth?" Then it hit her. "Oh shit. The Void Ship- It's theirs, isn't it?"

"Maybe," he said and stared into space. "Or maybe they've found it."

She looked out of the window again. A plan began to form in her head. Well, more a last and desperate attempt, not a plan. Their only chance right now was to use the current situation. Play them both, Cybermen and Daleks, off against each other. Working with the Cybermen wasn't an option, they just wanted to upgrade humanity. They had to find out what the Daleks wanted. They didn't seem to be willing to collaborate as well, but maybe they needed intelligence. She didn't really like that idea, plus, time was running out for them and Earth. On the other hand, they didn't have anything left to lose. But there was another factor. She had no idea how the Doctor would react if she told him about her plans. If she would find an opportunity to tell him at all.

"Say, how exactly does your telepathy work? You've read one of my thoughts once, didn't you?" she whispered to him.

"What!?" His head flung around to her.

"Come on, don't pretend to be so surprised. Do we have to hold hands? There are things that aren't for their ears," she nodded at the Cybermen, "so it would really-"

"You are proof," one of the Cybermen suddenly interrupted her.

"Of what?" the Doctor asked perplexed.

"That emotions destroy you."

"Yeah, I am," he replied calmly, "Mind you, I quite like hope. Hope's a good emotion. And here it comes," he added and looked through the room.

Strangely enough, there was nothing there to see for her. The Cyberman had followed his gaze as well, and suddenly a group of black dressed people with breathing masks appeared out of thin air. The lifted their guns, aimed at the Cybermen and immediately destroyed them.

As the last Cyberman was destroyed, she herself and the Doctor got out of the corner where they had sheltered themselves.

"Doctor - good to see you again," one of the group said and she looked at him completely dumbfounded. That couldn't be true.

"Jake!?" she and the Doctor said at once.

"The Cybermen came through from one world to another - and so did we," Jake explained.

"You did _what_?" she asked, still somehow stunned.

But instead of answering, Jake said to the group, "Defend this room. Chrissie, monitor communications."

She looked at the Doctor who was wearing the 3D glasses again, studying the group.

"Kill one Cyber Leader and they just download into another. Move!" Jake added.

"You can't just- just- just _hop_ from one world to another. You _can't_ ," the Doctor spluttered.

Good. She was not the only one completely taken aback by that.

"We just did. With these," Jake said and threw something that looked like a big, yellow button on a chain at the Doctor and then another one at her.

"With these?" she asked and turned the yellow object in her hands, still in disbelief. "You know what, my ship got destroyed by doing this. And you tell me now that all it takes are big yellow buttons? Where did you get them from?"

"She's right, that's definitely not Earth-technology. So?" the Doctor fell in.

"We've got our own version of Torchwood. They developed it. Do you wanna come and see?"

"NO!" the Doctor yelled, but it was too late.

Jake pressed the button on his device, and the next second they were standing in pretty much the same room as before. Only this one was darker, and much more messier.

"Parallel Earth - parallel Torchwood. Except we found out what the institute was doing and the people's republic took control."

"I've gotta get back. Rose is in danger. And her mother," the Doctor urged.

"That'd be Jackie," she heard a voice. It was Pete who had just walked in.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor still couldn't believe it. Humans. Did they really think they could jump between universes just like that? With technology they didn't even understand? And if all this hadn't been enough, now Pete turned up.

"My wife in a parallel universe. And as for you, Doctor, at least this time I know who you are," Pete said to him.

"Right, yes, fine, hooray. But I've gotta get back. Right now," he said as he went over to Pete.

"No, you're not in charge here. This is our world, not yours. And you're gonna listen for once," Pete replied so calm that it was almost maddening.

Instead of replying something, he walked over to the wall were the crack in space was located and laid his ear against it. The wall between the worlds was weakening, and that was not good.

"When you left this world, you warned us there'd be more Cybermen. So we sealed them inside the factories," Pete said.

The Doctor stepped away from the wall and looked at him, as well as at Jake and Mira who had joined them. Mira seemed to be really worried by now, and it didn't surprise him. She probably was the only one in here – apart from him – who could understand the implications of two universes colliding. She must have been a great scientist in her universe. For a moment he wondered why she wasn't working as a scientist. Or was she? She had never really told him.

"Except people argued. Said they were living. We should _help_ them," Jake said.

Oh well, humans. Their greatest strength, their compassion, was sometimes their greatest weakness.

"And the debate went on. But all that time, the Cybermen made plans. Infiltrated this version of Torchwood, mapped themselves onto your world, and then vanished," Pete continued.

"When was this?"

"Three years ago."

They were strolling back down the room, away from the wall.

"It's taken them three years to cross the void, but we can pop to and fro in a second. Must be the sheer mass of five million Cybermen crossing all at once," the Doctor was thinking aloud.

"Yeah, Mickey said you'd rattle off that sort of stuff," Pete said.

"Oh, where is the Mickey-boy?"

"He went ahead first. Any chance to go and find Miss Rose Tyler."

"She's your daughter. You do know that? Did Mickey explain?"

"She's not mine. She's the child of a dead man."

Now they were standing at a window. The scene down below was absolutely peaceful. Nothing compared to his own universe right now.

"Look at it. A world of peace. They're calling this 'The Golden Age'," Pete said.

"Who's the President now?"

"A woman called Harriet Jones."

"I'd keep an eye on her."

"But it's a lie. Temperatures have risen by two degrees in the past six months. The ice caps are melting. They're saying all this is gonna be flooded. That's not just global warming, is it?" Pete asked.

"No," he said.

"It's two universes colliding," Mira said. "Do you have any idea what forces are at work here?"

"No. No, we don't," Pete said quietly.

"I've been trying to tell you - travel between parallel worlds is impossible. Then the Daleks break down the walls with the sphere...," he said but Pete interrupted him.

"Daleks?"

"Then the Cybermen travelled across, then you lot - those disks - every time you jump from one reality to another, you rip a hole in the universe. This planet is starting to boil. Keep going and _both_ worlds will fall into the Void."

"But you can stop it - the famous Doctor...? You can seal the breach?" Pete asked.

"Leaving five million Cybermen stranded on my Earth."

"That's your problem. I'm protecting this world, and this world only."

He laughed softly and looked Pete up and down, "Hm... Pete Tyler... I knew you when you were dead. Now here you are, fighting the fight... alone...," he said, emphasising the last word and stepped closer to Pete. "There is a chance... back on my world... Jackie Tyler might still be alive."

"My wife died."

"Her husband died. Good match."

"There's more important things at stake," Pete said, "Doctor... help us."

He backed away, completely taken off guard. "What? Close the breach? Stop the Cybermen? Defeat the Daleks? Do you believe I can do that?"

"Yes," Pete said confidently.

"Maybe that's all I need," he said and grinned. "Off we go, then!"

 **...**

A moment later, he, Jake, Mira, Pete and some soldiers were back in his universe in the Rift Chamber. He hurried over to the phone.

"First of all, I need to make a phone call. You don't mind?" If Jackie was still alive, he had to help her now.

"You two, guard to door," Jake said to the soldiers.

He dialled Jackies number, and it didn't take long for her to answer.

"Help me! Oh, my God, help me," she yelled into the phone.

"Jackie, you're alive! Listen-"

"They tried to download me but I ran away!"

"Listen, tell me - where are you?"

"I don't know! Staircase."

"Yeah, which one? Is there any- any sort of sign? Anything to identify it?"

"Yes! A fire extinguisher!"

"Yeah, that helps..."

"Oh, wait a minute - it says 'N3'."

"North corner, staircase 3. Just keep low, we're trying our best."

"No, don't leave me!"

"I've gotta go, I'm sorry," he said and hung up the phone before he turned to Pete. "Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Tyler."

"She's not my wife," Pete said.

"I was at the wedding," he replied, and then, accusingly, "You got her name wrong." He went over to Jake and took the gun off him. He looked at it for a moment and then continued, "Now then, Jake-y boy, if I can open up the bonding chamber on this thing, it could work on polycarbide."

"What's polycarbide?" Jake asked.

"Skin of a Dalek," he replied, gave the gun back to Jake and looked for Mira.

She was standing at the window, and after a moment of hesitation he walked over to her.

"You really think you can close the rift?" she asked quietly without looking at him.

"I don't know yet. But I have to. There's no other way."

She closed her eyes for a moment and he could hear her breathing heavily.

"Mira, I'm so-" he started, but she interrupted him.

"Don't. Don't say you're sorry. I would do the same in your stead."

"Really? You know what closing the breach means? Not only the connection between these two universes will be gone, but most likely the borders of this universe will become so strong that nothing can cross them for quite some time," he said softly.

"I know. But how could I let this happen?" she said, her voice cracking and looked at him for the first time. Her face was pale and her lower lip was shivering slightly. "Not only that the Daleks and the Cybermen will remain here on Earth, both worlds will be destroyed in the end." She turned her head back to the window. "I spent all my life fighting for humanity, I would have given my life for them, any time. And not only for humanity. How could I let all these people die now? Billions, just so I can get home again? They might not be my people, but either way, I could never live with this," she said flatly.

He eyed her closely. There was nothing left from the anger and sarcasm she had shown earlier on. Even the passion he had seen as she had spoken to Yvonne was gone. Now she just seemed to be broken. Broken and defeated.

"Even if the Void Ship didn't do the damage, but the Cybermen, I just can't risk it." she added.

"You don't think the Void Ship was the root of all this?"

"I don't know. We were in parallel worlds before. Even I came here without destroying this universe. I think it's the sheer mass of the Cybermen that's causing all the damage. Anyway, doesn't really matter now, does it? The Daleks have the Void Ship."

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

The Daleks still surrounded the Genesis Arch as Mickey showed her a yellow button that was hanging around his neck.

"I could transport out of here, but it only carries one and I'm not leaving you," he whispered.

"You'd follow me anywhere. What did I do to you all those years ago?" she wondered.

She really hadn't been that fair to Mickey, she realised. Well, she had realised it as he had chosen to stay in the parallel world, but she had avoided to think about it. After all he had left her, so she had assumed he was done with her.

"Guess I'm just stupid."

"You're the bravest man I've ever met," she said and squeezed his hand.

"What about the Doctor?"

"Oh, all right. Bravest Human," she said and smirked at him.

"Well, I can't think what the Daleks need with me. I'm nothing to them."

"You could be... whatever's inside that Ark is waking up and I've seen this happen before," she replied. "The first time I saw a Dalek, it was broken. It was dying. But I touched it. The moment I did that... I brought it back to life," she explained. "As the Doctor said... when you travel in time in the TARDIS, you soak up all this... um... background radiation. It's harmless, it's just there. But in the Time War, the Daleks evolved so they could use it as a power supply."

"I love it when you talk technical," Mickey suddenly said.

She looked at him for a moment. He had really changed. He seemed way more serious and grown up now.

"Shut up. If the Daleks have got something inside that thing that needs waking up..."

"They need you."

"Y _ou've_ travelled in time - either one of us would do."

"But why would they build something they can't open themselves?"

"The technology is stolen. The Ark is not of Dalek design," one of the Daleks suddenly interrupted them.

"Then who built it?" she asked.

"The Time Lords. This is all that survives of their Home World."

"What's inside?"

"The future."

* * *

 _Jesse Wales, AxidentlGoddess, oXxgeorgiaxXo, bored411, 10th Squad 3rd Seat: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_

 _Dove: In the show I´m quite neutral toward her as well. I didn´t even plan to write her like that in the beginning, it just turned out like that. Probably because she really has some serious issues/flaws if you look closer at her character._


	44. Chapter 44 - Doomsday Pt 2

**Chapter XLIV**

 _Rose's POV_

The Dalek, who was sent to investigate returned to the Sphere Chamber and screamed, "Cyber threat irrelevant. Concentrate on the Genesis Ark."

One of the Daleks – a black one – pressed his suction arm against the Genesis Ark. Rose only wished she knew what this thing was.

"Why are we being kept alive?" Mickey whispered.

"They might need me," she replied after a short pause.

"What? What is it?" he wanted to know, but she just stared at the Daleks who backed away from the Genesis Ark. She really was afraid right now, even though she was trying not to show it. Hopefully the Doctor was alright. Maybe he was on his way down here already.

"Final stage of awakening," one of the Daleks announced.

"Your hand print will open the Ark, " another one addressed Rose.

"Well tough, 'cos I'm not doing it," she replied, her voice steadier then she would have expected.

"Obey or the male will die."

Okay, they might have a point there, Rose thought. "I can't let them," she said quietly to Mickey and then walked towards the Ark.

"Rose, don't," Mickey tried to stop her.

"Place your hand upon the casket," one of the Daleks urged with his nasty screaming voice.

"All right!" she said and turned to the Ark. "You're gonna kill us anyway, so what the hell?" She was playing for time now and turned back to the Dalek. "If you um... escaped the Time War... don't you want to know what happened?"

"Place your hand-" the Dalek yelled unimpressed.

"What happened to the Emperor?" Rose didn't give in.

"The Emperor survived."

"'Til he met me...," she said with a cheesy smile, "'cos if these are gonna be my last words, then you're gonna listen. I met the Emperor. And I took the Time Vortex and I pulled it into his head and turned him into dust. Do you get that? The God of all Daleks... and I destroyed him." After the last word, she laughed at the Dalek. She wondered for a moment where her courage came from, but it must had something to do with desperation.

"You will be EXTERMINATED!" the Dalek screamed at her.

"Oh now, hold on, wait a minute," she suddenly heard an all to familiar voice from the door.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

They had gone down to the Sphere Chamber, not without bumping into some Cybermen – it had been voluntarily, he had to admit, for they were in need of all the help they could get against the Daleks.

A few moments later he had managed to explain his plan to the Cybermen, and walked right into the Sphere Chamber. At his side was only Mira. The rest, including the Cybermen, were waiting outside. Mira had insisted to go with him, and he himself would like to have an eye on her as well, so he hadn't objected. Right now he wasn't able to tell if she would do something stupid or not, even though he believed her that she really understood why he had to seal the breach. But he didn't trust that she wouldn't do something stupid like sacrificing herself to save someone.

So they entered the Chamber side by side, and as soon as the Daleks had recognised him, they started to scream, "Alert, alert - you are the Doctor!"

He looked over to Rose, who smiled with delight. He was relieved to see that she was unharmed, and there was Mickey as well. Just the poor Rajesh hadn't been that lucky.

"Sensors report he is unarmed," one of the Daleks continued.

"That's me. Always," he replied lightly.

"Then you are powerless."

"Not me," he said and put the 3D specs off he had been wearing. "Never," he continued and then turned to Rose, "How are you?"

"Oh, same old, you know," she replied and looked at him almost shyly.

"Good! And Mickity-McMickey!" he said and they bashed fists. "Nice to see ya!"

"And you, boss," Mickey said with a smile.

"Social interaction will cease!" a Dalek screamed.

"How did you survive the Time War?" another one of them wanted to know.

"By fighting. On the front line," he replied, suddenly all serious. "I was there at the fall of Arcadia. Someday I might even come to terms with that," he continued. "But you lot - ran away!" he accused the Daleks.

"We had to survive."

"The last four Daleks in existence. So what's so special about _you_?"

"Doctor, they've got names. And Daleks don't have names, do they? One of them said they-" Rose whispered to him, before she got interrupted by one of the Daleks.

"I am Dalek Thay."

"Dalek Sek."

"Dalek Jast."

"Dalek Caan."

The Doctor smiled with delight. He had expected a lot, but not this. "So _that's_ it! At last... the Cult of Skaro. I thought you were just a legend," he said.

"Who are they?" Mira asked.

"A secret order. Above and beyond the Emperor himself. Their job was to imagine. Think as the enemy thinks. Even dared to have names," he said as he strolled around them. "All to find new ways of killing," he added with distaste.

"But that thing, they said it was yours. I mean, Time Lords. They built it. What does it do?" Mickey said and gestured at the Ark.

He glanced at it, but he had no idea. Maybe it wasn't Time Lord technology at all. "I don't know. Never seen it before," he finally said.

"But it's... Time Lord," Rose fell in.

"Both sides had secrets," he said and then turned to the Daleks, "What is it? What have you done?"

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira was glad they had something to do now; it kept her from thinking. Keeping the thought at a distance that constantly echoed through her mind now.

 _You're finally trapped when the breach is sealed. You're..._

And yet she felt like she was standing beneath a rock that was about to crash on her head any second.

She had followed the Doctor into the Sphere Chamber and was now facing the four Daleks. And she recognised that the Void Ship was gone. It had given her quite a shock, even though she knew that she most likely couldn't use it, even more so if the Doctor was able to seal the breach. Maybe it was just hidden.

But now she had to focus on the Daleks right now. They still seemed like robots to her. Probably they hid behind a higher-dimension-shield - they had things like that in her universe, and they were able to shield psychic energy as well. A telepath couldn't read the thoughts of someone behind such a shield, and a teleporter couldn't penetrate it. Whatever shields they had, they must be pretty good ones. Or was it mainly about the material of the hull? Possible. Materials that gave off a radiation in the 5th dimension existed as well. She even thought for a moment which weapons could be used against them. Probably an impulse-weapon for the shield, and then disintegrators for the casing. Then she remembered that she didn't have them now. And never ever again. It was not about her Earth and her humanity, not about her universe.

She turned her attention to the Genesis Ark. It almost looked a bit like a Dalek itself.

"Time Lord science will restore Dalek supremacy," Dalek Sek yelled.

"What does that mean? What sort of Time Lord science? What do you mean?" the Doctor tried it again.

"They said one touch from a time traveller will wake it up," Rose said.

"Technology using the one thing a Dalek can't do," the Doctor said and approached one of the Daleks. "Touch. Sealed inside your casing. Not feeling anything... ever... from birth to death, locked inside a cold metal cage," he said, now standing directly in front of one of them, staring into his eye stalk. "Completely alone. And that explains your voice. No wonder you scream," he whispered.

Mira shivered. She could only imagine how it must be for him to stand now in front of these Daleks.

"The Doctor will open the Ark!" Dalek Sek commanded.

"The Doctor will not," he said and laughed contemptuously.

"You have no way of resisting," Dalek Sek replied.

"Well... you got me there. Although... there is always this," he said and took his sonic device out of his pocket.

"A sonic probe?" Dalek Sek asked.

"That's 'screwdriver'," he said.

"It is harmless," Dalek Sek said, and the scorn in his badly modulated screaming voice was clear to hear.

"Oh yes. Harmless is just the word. That's why I like it. Doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't maim. But I'll tell you what it does do - it is _very_ good at opening doors," the Doctor replied.

He activated the screwdriver, and, just as they had agreed it, the doors exploded inwards and Jake, his men and the Cybermen stormed into the room, firing their guns at the Daleks.

"Delete! Delete! Delete! Delete!" the Cybermen announced.

"Alert! Casing impact, casing impact!" Dalek Caan screamed.

Indeed, the weapons were able to penetrate the energy-shields and hit the metal casing. She had no time to observe it any further, because she, Rose, and the Doctor stood directly in the line of fire and flung themselves to the floor.

"Mira, Rose, get out!" the Doctor yelled.

For once she could do nothing but agree with him. She headed for the door, followed by Rose, the Doctor and Mickey.

"Fire power insufficient! Fire power insufficient!" Dalek Sek cried.

Mira looked behind and saw Rose stumble, but before she could get to her, Pete had helped her to her feet again. Rose looked at him in surprise, but thankfully didn't demand an explanation right now. Maybe because she had already met Mickey, who came from the same parallel universe. Finally they reached the door. Mickey was lacking behind, picked up his gun and started to fire at anything that was still moving, no matter if Cybermen or Dalek.

"Daleks will be deleted. Delete! Delete!" the Cybermen stated.

By now they were all gathered in the door frame – all except of Mickey and Jake.

"Mickey, come on!" Rose yelled at him.

"Adapt to weaponry!" Dalek Thay suddenly screamed.

"Fire power restored!" Dalek Sek added.

 _Not good._

It was only the moment of surprise that had helped the Cybermen against the Daleks. That, and the weapons that Jake had brought with him. But now they obviously had adapted their shields to them.

Dalek Sek fired at a Cyberman, who was immediately destroyed.

At that very moment, Jake finally managed to reached the door as well, but Mickey was still caught in the middle. Without thinking twice, she hurried to him, crouching over the floor and carefully keeping her head down. He probably would have made it on his own, but she wouldn't just stand their and watch if he would get shot or not. Plus, he seemed to be a bit disorientated by now and probably needed just a push or drag into the right direction. Just as she reached him he lost his footing, stumbled and instinctively grabbed her arm. He pushed her, making her stumble in return and they both fell against the Genesis Ark. She felt a burning pain in her hand as she accidentally touched the hull. She saw the red mark she had left there as she hurried with Mickey to the door. They made it, just in time.

"Cybermen primary target," she heard Dalek Sek yell, before the door finally closed behind them.

 **...**

They were running down a corridor now. She still could feel the pain in her hand from touching the Genesis Ark.

"Jake, check the stairwell. The rest of you, come on!" the Doctor said.

He must have seen it, haven't he? Well, at least now they would find out what was inside this thing. It wasn't really that big, so she could hardly imagine that _someone_ was inside it. But...

"Doctor?" she said alarmed.

"What?"

"This thing - Could it be a bomb? I mean, it's not really big, but big enough to destroy the whole planet, if it is-"

"I said it, I have no idea what it is," he replied while they were running down the corridor.

"But you must have at least an idea what it _could_ be? I mean, with our technology I could at least say that an object of this size could potentially destroy a whole planet. Of if it even remotely looks like a weapon or not." She paused but he didn't answer. "Well, it seems we'll find out soon," she continued and looked at her hand. "This dammed thing _had_ to stand right there, in the middle of the way."

"Mira, don't worry. Without you, they would have opened it by force. To do that, they'd have blown up the sun. You've done us a favour!"

 _Blow up the sun? Great. Not._

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he took her shoulders and kissed her on the top of her head, leaving her completely dumbfounded for a moment; making her even forget that she really had enough of blowing up suns for the rest of her life, however long this might be.

"Now, run!"

A few moments later they discovered two Cybermen in front of them, around a corner, their backs turned to them.

"You will be upgraded," they yelled, but Mira couldn't see to whom they were speaking.

Wasn't really important anyway, for it only took two shots out of Pete's gun to destroy them. And then she could see who it was. Jackie. She was still alive, thanks God.

"Pete!" she said in surprise as she spotted her long, yet not-so-dead husband.

"Hello, Jacks," Pete replied.

"I said there were ghosts, but that's not fair. Why him?" she said, almost plaintively.

"I'm not a ghost."

"But you're dead. You died twenty years ago, Pete."

Right now, the Doctor stepped forward and started to explain, "It's Pete from a different Universe. There are parallel worlds, Jackie. Every single decision we make creates a parallel existence, a different dimension where-"

"Oh, you can shut up," Jackie interrupted him.

And for once, he indeed did as he was told and stepped into the background again.

"Oh... you look old," Jackie said whilst she was staring at Pete.

"You don't."

"How can you be standing there?"

"Just got lucky... lived my life. You were left on your own. You didn't marry again, or...?"

"There was never anyone else," Jackie said quietly. "Twenty years, though. Look at me - I never left that flat. Did nothing with myself."

"Brought _her_ up. Rose Tyler," Pete replied, and seemed to be honestly proud. "That's not bad."

"Yeah," Jackie whispered.

"In my world, it worked. All those daft little plans of mine. They worked. Made me rich."

"I don't care about that," Jackie said, and after a pause continued, "How rich?"

"Very."

"I don't care about that. How very?"

Pete laughed and said, "Thing is though, Jacks, you're... you're not my wife. I'm sorry, but you're not. I mean, we both..."

Jackie nodded at him. But Mira could almost feel that he was only saying that to convince himself. He didn't really believe it, and neither did Jackie. They were loving each other still, she could feel that.

"You know, it's just sort of...," Pete continued, but the finally started towards her, "Oh, come here."

They ran to meet each other. Jackie started to cry and Pete lifted her off the ground in a huge hug.

 **...**

They stopped by the Factory Floor where the Sunglider was. The Doctor had said that he needed these magnaclamps, but she had no idea what for.

He opened the door and they could immediately see that the battle between the Daleks and the Cybermen was in full spate. Thankfully, the clamps weren't that far away. The Doctor waited for the right moment, dived into the room, got the clamps and was on his way back as he tripped over the body of a Cyberman. As she was about to get after him, he managed to get on his feet again, reached the door and closed it.

But instead of heading on, he dropped the clamps, put on his 3D specs and opened the door again.

"Override roof mechanism," Dalek Sek announced, and instantly the roof began to open slowly. "El-ev-ate."

They lifted off the ground together with the Genesis Ark.

"What're they doing? Why'd they need to get outside?!" Rose asked.

"Time Lord science- WHAT Time Lord science?" the Doctor said baffled. "What is it?"

They watched for a moment longer how Dalek Sek elevated through the ceiling with the Ark. Then the Doctor closed the door.

"We've gotta see what it's doing, we've gotta go back up! Come on! All of you! Top floor!" he said as they were running back down the corridor.

"That's forty-five floors up! Believe me, I've done 'em all," Jackie said.

Suddenly, Jake popped his head out of a lift, "We could always take the lift..."

As soon as they had reached the top floor, they all ran to the Rift Chamber and over to the window. The Ark had already opened and was spinning in the air now, shooting Daleks out of it. An endless stream of Daleks, at least it seemed like that to Mira. But how could this be possible? She turned to the Doctor, who stared at the Ark in horror.

"Time Lord science... it's bigger on the inside," he whispered.

 _Great. Just like the TARDIS._

At this moment she honestly hoped she would never ever encounter Time Lord science again. Well, aside from the TARDIS. But who knew what else they had in store?

"Did Time Lords put those Daleks in there? What for?" Mickey asked.

"It's a prison ship," the Doctor replied flatly.

"Holy shit. How many?" Mira asked.

"Millions."

They stood for a moment and watched mortified how the Daleks spread over London. They started to fire at the city with the Cybermen immediately returning it.

"I'm sorry, but you've had it. This world's gonna crash and burn. There's nothing we can do. We're going home. Jacks, take this," Pete finally broke the silence and handed one of the big yellow buttons to Jackie.

He would have fitted well into the Fleet, Mira suddenly had to think. Maybe not so much because he didn't care what happened to this world, but because he really was able to make decisions quickly, even in a situation like that. The last three years had really shaped him.

But that didn't matter now. She would never be able to get back. And even if, could she really risk to lead the Daleks to her universe? She had no doubts that they would be able to deal with the Cybermen, but not so easy with the Daleks. She didn't believe they would be invincible in her universe, but there would certainly be a high number of casualties and material damage. Maybe not as worse as the battle against the Dolans, the living space-ships that almost destroyed Earth, had went, but still worse enough. After all, they had destroyed a civilisation that was so way above everything humanity had acquired so far.

On the other hand, humanity had spread over the whole galaxy by now - destroying one single planet wouldn't be the end. Maybe if it was Earth. She doubted that humanity would ever recover from that. At least the humanity she knew would cease to exist. Earth and the Solar System was what had kept everything together so far. It would only take a few generations until humanity would finally forget where they had came from. Not that they would really care about it. Why would they? It was just living fossils like her who were emotionally attached to that old planet. Why would people who were born far away from Earth, knowing it only from stories - if at all -, care about it? Just because their ancestors came from there centuries ago?

"But they're destroying the City!" Jackie yelled at Pete and pulled her out of her thoughts.

"I'd forgotten you could argue," Pete said affectionately and looped the button around her neck himself. "It's not just London, it's the whole world." He took her face in his hands and looked at her. "But there's another world, just waiting for you, Jacks. And it's safe. As long as the Doctor closes the breach. Doctor?"

The Doctor turned from the window, his 3D specs on and grinned widely, "Oh, I'm ready. I've got the equipment right here. Thank you, Torchwood!" He dashed to a computer and continued, "Slam it down and close off both universes."

"Reboot systems," a computer voice announced.

"But we can't just leave. What about the Daleks? And the Cybermen-?" Rose asked. She had been really silent so far, Mira had to notice.

"They're part of the problem. And _that_ makes them part of the solution. Oh yes!"

Rose didn't answer, only laughed nervously.

"Well?! Isn't anyone gonna ask? What is it with the glasses?" he asked excited.

Sometimes his mood-swings were a tiny bit frightening, Mira thought to herself. She was never sure if he really was in such a cheerful mood or just hiding something dark.

"What's it with the glasses then?" Mira asked dryly. She just couldn't find it in her to be as excited as he seemed to be.

His smile fell for a moment as he looked at her face but then he gathered himself and said, "I can _see_! That's what! 'Cos we've got two separate worlds, but in-between the two separate worlds, we've got the Void. That's where the Daleks were hiding. And the Cybermen travelled through the Void to get here! And you lot - one world to another, via the Void! Oh, I like that. Via the Void! Look!"

He put the glasses onto her face. Indeed, she could see it now. He was surrounded by some sort of particles or radiation.

"I've been through it. Do you see?" he asked and moved in front of her from left to right. "Void stuff."

"Okay, some sort of background radiation?" she asked.

"That's it. Look at the others."

She turned to them, and indeed, all of them were covered into the same stuff. All but Jackie.

"The only one who hasn't been through the Void - Jackie. First time she's looked normal in her life," the Doctor confirmed her observations.

"Oi!" Jackie said indignantly.

Then she took a look at her own hands and down her body. She was literally covered in this Void stuff, way more than the others.

"See, you almost look like a Christmas tree," the Doctor said with a big smile and took the specs from her. Then he walked over to the white area where the breach was. "The Daleks lived inside the Void. They're bristling with it. Even more than you do. Cybermen - all of them. I just open the Void - end of verse. The Void stuff gets sucked back inside."

"And so do we," she said seriously.

"Sorry... what's- what's the Void?" Mickey interrupted them.

"The dead space. Some people call it 'Hell'," the Doctor explained.

"So... you're sending the Daleks and Cybermen to Hell," Mickey said and looped the button around his neck."Man, I told you he was good," he said to Jake.

"Doctor. We'll all get pulled in, won't we?" she asked again.

Suddenly Rose was at her side, "We'll get sucked into the Void as well?"

* * *

 _Rose's POV_

She looked at the Doctor in fear. Was that his plan? Sacrifice them all to get rid of the Cybermen and the Daleks?

"No, Rose," he eventually said to her. "You've gotta go."

"Reboot in two minutes," the computer announced.

She could do nothing but stare at him, uncomprehending. What was that supposed to mean?

"Back to Pete's world," he continued and suddenly pointed at Pete. "Hey, we should call it that - 'Pete's World'." Then he turned back to her. "I'm opening the Void, but only on this side. You'll be safe on that side."

She could still do nothing but stare at him. So that was it? She would be in Pete's world and he would get pulled into the Void? And, apart from that, she still couldn't believe that he would really leave her behind. She had thought about what she had done, she had to tell him that. She wouldn't work against Mira anymore, if she just could stay with him. But how should she tell him, now, with Pete, Jackie, Mickey and the others here?

"And then you close it. For good?" Pete asked.

"The breach itself is soaked in Void Stuff, in the end it'll close itself. And that's it. Kaput."

"But you stay on _this_ side...?" she asked. She still couldn't believe that he would really give his life to save this Earth.

"But you'll get pulled in," Mickey had realised it as well.

The Doctor looked at her for a moment, then he went over to the desk and picked up one of the magnaclamps. "That's why... I got these. I'll just have to hold on tight - I've been doing it all my life."

"I'm supposed to go," she said quietly.

"Yeah."

"To another world, and then it gets sealed off."

"Yeah."

She looked after him as he went to another of the computers. It was obvious that he didn't want to talk about it now, but he wouldn't get away that easily. Not this time.

"Forever," she said and laughed at the absurdity of the idea. "Just like her?" She looked at Mira. "Trapped in another universe? That's not gonna happen. What is this? Your punishment for me?"

"Rose, stop it," he warned her, and then continued without looking at her, "There's no other way."

"But- Can we just talk for a moment? Please. All I-"

"We don't have time for that. Besides, we have talked. I gave you a chance. And you threw it away. It can't go on like this. You'll go to Pete's world with your mother, Pete and the others. That's it. At least you're safe there."

"I know I don't deserve another chance," she pleaded with tears in her eyes. "But I've thought about it. It was a big mistake. I won't act like this again, I promise." She turned to Mira, and it really was hart for her to say that. She only hoped Mira wouldn't figure out that she didn't quite mean it. Or at least would keep her mouth shut. "I'm sorry, Mira. Sorry for what happened on Kroptor and what I said to you in the TARDIS!"

Thankfully, Mira didn't say a thing, but neither did the Doctor. He only looked at her, but from the expression on his face she could tell that he didn't believe a word of what she was saying. Or maybe he did, but he just didn't care.

"Rose! What are you talking about? What have you done?" Jackie asked and walked over to her.

"Nothing mum, it's just-" she started but the rest of the sentence got drowned in a sob. She wiped away the tears that were streaming down her face now. She caught eyes with the Doctor again and knew she really had lost him. He looked so hurt and disappointed, and for the first time she realised how much he must have cared about her.

Suddenly, a crash from outside shook the building.

"We haven't got time for this now, the plans works, we go in. You too. _All_ of us," Pete said briskly.

"No, I'm not leaving him!" she said defiantly. They couldn't force her.

"I'm not going without her," Jackie said, almost as defiantly as she herself.

"Oh, my God. We're _going,_ " Pete said.

"I've had twenty years without you, so button it. I'm not leaving her," Jackie insisted.

"Reboot in one minute," the computer announced.

"You have to go mum," Rose turned to Jackie, "I've had a life with you for nineteen years. But then I met the Doctor and... all the things I've seen him do for me. For you. For all of us. For the whole... stupid planet and every planet out there. He does it alone, mum. And even if he doesn't want me with him any more, I could never leave him alone here."

Suddenly, she felt a movement behind her back and someone looped one of the yellow buttons around her neck Before she fully realised what was happening, she found herself in almost the same place as before, just this one was darker and a lot messier. She spun around. The Doctor was gone, as well as Mira.

"Oh no you don't. He's not doing that to me again," she whispered under her breath and reached for the button, but Pete was there and snatched the button away from her before she could press it.

"NO!" she screamed and tried to grab it again, but he held it away from her.

"The Doctor said every time we use one of these, it damages the whole world. Now THAT'S IT," Pete said.

"Give it back!" she cried and tried to take it from Pete, but someone put his arms around her and hold her. It was Mickey. She struggled in his grip for some more moments, then slid to the floor, crying and sobbing in utter despair. She had lost everything, and it was all her fault, she realised that now. But it was too late.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He looked for a moment at the place where Rose had stood a moment ago. There was no way she could have stayed with him, and certainly no way he would have separated her from her family for ever. Even though he knew he had done the right thing, he felt strangely sad and empty now. Despite what she had done, Rose had helped him a lot, and he didn't know where he would have been without her now.

Suddenly, he felt the gentle nudge of an elbow in his side.

"So, what now?" Mira asked him.

He turned his head and looked at her. He wished there would be a way back to her friends and father for her, just as for Rose. But he couldn't help her, at least not now and not for a very long time either. He just hoped that she would stay with him now, and a part of him was even glad that she would be here for longer, even though he felt immediately selfish for that thought.

"Systems rebooted. Open access," the computer said.

"Those co-ordinates over there, set them all at six," he said and pointed at another computer, trying to sound as if nothing had happened.

She walked over to the computer and did as he told her.

"We've got Cybermen on the way up," she suddenly said and pointed at the screen.

"How many floors down?" he asked and ran over to her.

"Just one."

"Then I suppose we have to hurry," he said, but then something happened. On the screen was another Cyberman, opposing the two that were on their way up. And then, out of nowhere, it shot them. They didn't have sound, so he could only watch, plus, they didn't have time to wonder about that. Maybe something went wrong during _upgrading_ this one. He went over to the laptop and entered a command.

"Levers operational," the computer said.

"Ready?" he asked and looked intently at Mira. She was a mess. She was trying to keeping herself together, but she couldn't fool him. Maybe she could do so with the other humans here, but not with him.

"No," she said quietly. "But who cares?"

He looked at her for a moment longer, then he took the magnaclamps and gave one to her. They both attached them to the wall next to the levers.

"Press the red button," he said to her. "When it starts, just hold on tight. I mean, really tight. Your almost as badly steeped in Void stuff as the Cybermen and the Daleks."

"We've got company," she said instead of answering and looked over to the window where Daleks had appeared.

"Let's do it!" he said.

They pushed the levers and then hurried to take hold of the magnaclamps.

"Online."

The room was filled with the white light again, but this time there also was the sound of a strong wind. The Daleks got sucked through the window and disappeared through the breach into the void, followed by Cybermen and more Daleks. He struggled to hold on to the clamps, and so did Mira.

"The breach is open! Into the Void! Ha!" he exclaimed, almost cheerfully. At least they would get rid of the Daleks and the Cybermen, hopefully for good this time.

Suddenly there was a small explosion and the lever on her side started to move back into the 'off' position.

"Offline," the computer said.

"Turn it on!" he yelled, but she had already started to reach for the lever, but it was just slightly too far away. Before he could say something to warn her, she let got of the clamp and fell onto the lever. His hearts almost stopped as he watched it.

"Carefully!" he yelled.

"Very funny," she said between gritted teeth as she tried to pull the lever back. Finally she managed it.

"Online and locked," the computer announced.

He watched at her, and now she had nothing more to hold on to but the lever.

"Hold on!" he shouted in desperation.

But somehow she managed to stem her feet against some beam on the ground and clutch the lever with both arms. The suction increased again, and more and more Cybermen and Daleks were being pulled into the Void.

Slowly but surely the wind got weaker, and the seemingly endless stream of Cybermen and Daleks ceased. Finally, the breach closed itself and the wind stopped. He looked over to Mira who suddenly lost her balance and slumped forward, landing halfway between the lever and the wall.

"Ouch." She struggled to get out there and up to her feet again, but he was already at her side and helped her up.

"You're alright?" he asked and observed her closely.

"Yeah," she said without looking at him. Her eyes were turned to the wall that once had been the gate to another universe, but was no an ordinary wall again. The breach was gone for good.

So that's it, he thought. Daleks gone, Cybermen gone. And Rose. She would get over it and live with her family, now that the universe was sealed off again. And he could feel that this was indeed the case. He turned his head to where Mira had just stood, but she was gone. He only heard her footsteps running down the corridor.

"Mira! Wait!" he yelled and ran after her.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She heard the Doctor yell after her, but she didn't care. She had to go down where the Void Ship had been. Maybe it was there again. Maybe it didn't get pulled into the Void. And maybe they could analyse the technology and use it somehow.

She had reached the lift by now and thankfully it was still there. She jumped into it, hammered on the button to close the doors and then on the button for the basement. Her heart hammered like crazy in her chest as she waited and cursed for the lift to go faster. She felt as if suddenly there was no air for her to breath, as if the walls of the building were closing in on her. She had felt how the universe was sealed off. She couldn't describe the feeling, but she knew now that it was final.

She jumped out of the lift as it reached the basement and ran to the Sphere Chamber. She slowed down as she was almost there. Suddenly she didn't dare to look into it, but her feet were moving automatically.

The Chamber itself was chaos. The Cybermen that had been shot were gone, but the debris of the walls and the door were still lying around. And Rajesh's corpse. She looked over it and to the rear wall.

The Void Ship was still gone.

She stood there and looked at the empty space where it had been. Suddenly the time seemed to stand still and all she could hear was the blood rushing in her ears.

 _That's it._

It all came rushing over her, and she collapsed on to the floor, sitting there with her face buried in her hands. The cruel and merciless definitiveness of her situation, the overwhelming feeling of being alone and trapped - all that filled her mind and melted into an all-pervasive sensation of pain that left her numbed and shivering.

 _I'm dead._

That was all she could think right now. It was repeating over and over in her head, and in one way it was true. To the people in her universe she was dead. She could never reach them again. All that was left were memories. Nothing else. They were dead to her.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her back. Slowly she lifted her head but she couldn't bring herself to face him. She couldn't bring herself to do anything, but then she hadn't to. He pulled her into his arms and against his chest. This time she didn't have the energy to fight it, and slowly the sound of her blood rushing in her ears was replaced by his heartbeats as he gently stroke the back of her head.

* * *

 _PiperRoseHalliwell, GallifreyanMyth, bored411, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, oXxgerogiaxXo: Thanks for leaving a review and a happy New Year to everyone! :-)_


	45. Chapter 45 - The Runaway Bride Pt 1

**Chapter XLV**

 _Mira's POV_

They were back in the TARDIS. She couldn't really remember how they had gotten here, or how long they had stayed in the Sphere Chamber. She vaguely remembered the Doctor saying something about going back before the people at Torchwood found time to regroup themselves, but that was all. She still felt separated and somehow dead. Separated from this world, this universe, and even herself. As if everything around her was happening to someone else. Not quite as she was observing it, but she definitely felt strangely detached. Not even the comforting presence of the TARDIS in her mind could touch her in any way.

She stood in the console room and watched the Doctor starting the TARDIS engines. Just as he had turned his back to her, she headed – or better speaking: fled – for her room. She wanted to be alone now, or at least as alone as she could be on board of this living ship.

Once in her room, she coiled up on her bed. She didn't even bother to take a shower or change her clothes. She just wanted to sleep now. Or do something, anything to replace the emptiness inside her head, to make her feel anything but the dark and empty pain that had taken over her.

She had never felt that useless before in her live. She had things to do in her universe, people waiting for her. But here, there was nothing. No duties, no tasks, nothing.

Some time later, she had no idea how much, there was a knocking on her door.

 _Just go away._

But instead of doing so, or knocking again, he opened the door, walked over the the bed and sat down. She knew without looking that it was him. Who else could it be? It was only him and her now. And the TARDIS.

"How are you?" she heard him ask.

Stupid question, wasn't it? How should she be? But strangely, she couldn't think about what to answer. Or bring herself to answer anything at all. She knew she had to say something eventually. Or stand up again. She couldn't stay here on this bed and remain silent forever.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. The touch somehow woke her up, and almost involuntarily she sat up and got out of his reach. She just couldn't stand being touched right now.

"Fine," she said, stood up and walked to the bathroom.

"Fine?" he asked behind her. He had stood up as well, she could see it in the mirror over the washbasin through the open bathroom door.

"Yeah, fine. That's a polite way of saying I don't want to talk right now," she replied harshly and immediately felt sorry.

"You don't have to talk," he said, ignoring the offence. Or maybe he really was oblivious to it, who could tell that with aliens. At least he didn't look offended.

She turned her eyes to her own reflection in the mirror. It was as if someone else was staring back at her. Someone so much younger. Younger and incredibly sad. Did she really look _that_ miserably? She couldn't stand her face in the mirror any longer, so she turned on the cold water and washed her face. As she looked up again and grabbed for a towel, she could see that the Doctor was now leaning in the door frame, watching her with sorrow on his face.

"So, where to next?"she asked. She had tried to make it sound casually, but it turned out more absent-mindedly.

"Don't you want to sleep first?" he asked quietly.

"No, not tired," she replied and grabbed the comb, opened the knot in her neck and started combed her hair. She hoped that it didn't look as mechanical as it felt, but another part of her didn't really care.

"Sure?"

"Yes," she said and started to braid her hair after she had put the comb aside.

"Mira, please. Don't you want to rest for a while? Maybe you want to talk later, or-"

"Talk? What for?" she finally turned around and faced him. "It wouldn't change a thing, would it? So no, I don't want to talk. Not now or any time else." She turned around again, carefully avoiding his eyes and continued to tuck her hair into a knot. She couldn't stand to see the hurt and disappointment in his eyes, even more so that it wasn't him who was the problem. She just couldn't think or talk about it. She had to find a distraction, something to focus on.

"You're in shock," he finally said.

"Oh no, it's not shock," she replied, walked past him and opened the door to the corridor. "It's repression."

A few moments later, they were standing in the console room.

"So, where do you want to go?" he asked. At least he seemed to have accepted that she wasn't feeling like talking right now.

"Don't know. Somewhere. Not Earth. A planet. With an atmosphere," she said and pushed a button. She actually had memorised some of the controls as she waited for an answer.

"What?" was all he said, sounding completely aghast and looked past her, his face an expression of utter confusion.

For a short moment she was as confused as he looked. She couldn't explain what she had said to provoke such a reaction, but then the presence of someone standing behind her hit her. She spun around and saw it with her own eyes. There was a woman standing. A woman with red hair in a wedding dress.

"Who are you?" the woman demanded to know instantly.

Instead of answering, the Doctor looked around, completely dumbfounded. "But-"

"Where am I?" she tried it again.

"What?" the Doctor repeated himself.

"What the hell is this place?" the woman yelled. It was more than obvious that she was losing her patience.

"What?!"

Mira looked over to the Doctor, who was still stunned.

"You can't do that, I wasn't... we're in flight! That is- that is physically impossible! How did-?" he continued.

"Tell me where I am. I demand you tell me right now - where am I?" the woman said.

"On a space ship," Mira said eventually. That piece of information couldn't hurt, could it?

"Yeah, inside the TARDIS," the Doctor added.

"The what?"

"The TARDIS."

"The what?"

"The TARDIS!"

"The what?"

"It's called the TARDIS."

"That's not even a proper word. You're just saying things," she yelled at him angrily.

"No, it's actually an acronym," Mira tried to explain.

"A what?" Donna turned on her now. "Oh, you think you're so clever, don't ya?"

"How did you get in here?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, obviously, when you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh, my God, she's finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it," she yelled at him.

He just stood and watched her up and down, confusion growing on his face. Well, not that she herself was any less confused. Just as the woman in the wedding dress. Was she a teleporter? No, she would have felt if she had teleported into the TARDIS.

"Who the hell is Nerys?" the Doctor asked eventually.

"Your best friend."

"Hold on, wait a minute - what're you dressed like that for?" the Doctor asked.

"I'm going ten pin bowling," the woman said, and then started to yell again, "Why do you think, Dumbo? I was halfway up the aisle!"

The Doctor didn't answer but fiddled with the controls.

The woman was walking through the console room and continued with her rant, "I've been waiting all my life for this. I was just seconds away! And then you- I dunno, you drugged me or something!"

Mira couldn't help herself, but she immediately liked that woman. Instead of crouching frightened in a corner, she was at least trying to make sense out of everything. And she definitely was resolute.

"I haven't done anything!" the Doctor defended himself.

"We're having the police on you! Me and my husband - as soon as he is my husband - we're gonna sue the living backside off ya!"

"Donna, we haven't kidnapped you, it's-" Mira tried to explain but right at this moment the woman had spotted the door and rushed over it.

"No!" she yelled and ran after her. She had no idea what would happen if someone opened the door whilst in flight.

"No, wait a minute! Wait a minute! Don't-!" the Doctor fell in and went after her as well, but they were both too late.

The woman had already opened the door and was looking now completely stunned at the star and a super nova. The Doctor went to stand next to her, and so did Mira.

"You're in space. Outer Space. This is my... space-ship. It's called the 'TARDIS'," he explained quietly.

"How am I breathing?" the woman asked, making Mira's head turn. Not the most stupidest of all questions.

"The TARDIS is protecting us," the Doctor replied.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor. That's Mira. You?"

"Donna."

"Human?" the Doctor asked as he had looked her up and down.

"Yeah. Is that optional?" Donna asked, without looking at the Doctor.

"Well, it is for me."

Now, Donna looked at him for a moment, "You're an alien." Then her eyes fell on Mira, a silent question in them.

"For me not so much. Human," Mira said. She was standing on the other side of the door frame, so that the Doctor was in the middle of them.

Donna stared outside for a moment longer, then said, "It's freezing with these doors open."

As if he had only waited for something like that, the Doctor slammed the door shut and darted back to the console. "But I don't understand it and I understand everything! This- this can't happen! There is no way a Human Being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside. It must be...," he said, suddenly all energy. He grabbed something that looked like an ophthalmoscope and looked into Donna's eyes with it, muttering an endless flow of techno-babble. She herself understood barely half of it, Donna on the other hand obviously nothing at all.

"Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field? Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell. Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic-"

He didn't came further, because Donna slapped him right in the face. Even Mira was a bit surprised by it, Donna seemed to be really spontaneous from time to time.

"What was that for?" the Doctor asked indignantly, holding his cheek. Mira almost felt sorry for him, but he had it coming somehow.

"Get me to the church!" Donna shouted at him.

"Right! Fine! I don't want you here anyway! Where is this wedding?" the Doctor asked after he had dropped his instruments.

"Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System," Donna yelled back.

"Uhm. Couldn't we just stop yelling at and slapping each other?" Mira tried to mediate. "There's obviously something going on and-"

Before she could continue, Donna had spotted a blouse that was hanging over one of the railings. It was one of Rose's.

"Donna, put that back," she said to her, but Donna didn't care.

"I knew it. Acting all innocent," she said and strode over to the Doctor, showing him the blouse. "I'm not the first, am I? How many women have you abducted?"

The Doctor looked up from the controls and saw the blouse in Donna's hands. Mira only wondered why this thing was still in the TARDIS, and of all places in the console room. Hadn't Rose packed her things?

"That's my friend's," the Doctor said quietly and thankfully not as upset as she had feared.

"Where is she, then? Popped out for a space walk?" Donna said sarcastically.

"She's gone."

"Gone where?"

"Home."

"Well, you can hurry up and get me home," Donna said furiously. Then she watched him for a moment, turned her head to Mira and then back to the Doctor. "How do you mean, 'Gone home'?"

Instead of answering, the Doctor only snatched the blouse from her.

"Right! Chiswick," he said.

 **...**

A few moments later, they had landed and Donna made it towards the door and out of the TARDIS, Mira and the Doctor following her.

"I said 'Saint Mary's'. What sort of Martian are you? Where's this?" Donna said.

Mira looked around herself. She had no idea, but it _could_ be London.

"Something's wrong with her...," the Doctor said quietly as he stroke the TARDIS. "It's like she's... recalibrating!"

"Recalibrating what?" Mira asked, but instead of answering he rushed back into the TARDIS. She followed him, not without having a last look at Donna, who was watching the outside of the TARDIS in amazement.

"She's digesting," the Doctor said as they were both back at the console. "What have you eaten? What's wrong?" Then he yelled, obviously talking to Donna, "Donna? You've really gotta think. Is there anything that might've caused this? Anything you might've done? Any sort of alien contacts? I can't let you go wandering off in case you're dangerous. I mean, have you... have you seen lights in the sky? Or... did you touch something? Something- something different? Something strange? Something made out of a sort of metal or... who're you getting married to?"

Mira looked to the door as Donna didn't answer. Donna looked through the door back at her, apparently confused. Suddenly, she could feel that Donna was about to do something. Maybe not slap the Doctor again, but...

"Are you sure he's human? He's not a bit overweight with a zip around his forehead, is he?" the Doctor continued obliviously.

"Donna, wait!" she yelled just as Donna had decided to run away. She ran out of the TARDIS, the Doctor following her. They soon fell into step beside Donna.

"Donna," the Doctor said, his hands in his pocket.

"Leave me alone. I just want to get married."

"Come back to the TARDIS."

"No way. That box is too... weird."

"It's... bigger on the inside, that's all."

"Oh! That's all?"

"Donna, it's really no big deal. Just- just try to accept it," Mira said.

Donna just sighed and checked her watch. "Ten past three. I'm gonna miss it," she said, close to tears now.

"You can phone them. Tell them where you are," the Doctor suggested.

"How do I do that?"

"Haven't you got a mobile?"

Donna suddenly stopped and stared at him. Mira lowered her head in expectation of what to come.

"I'm in my wedding dress. It doesn't have pockets. Who has pockets? Have you ever seen a bride with pockets? When I went to my fitting, do you think I said "Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is give me pockets"?!" Donna yelled, and didn't disappoint Mira at all.

" ... This man you're marrying - what's his name?" the Doctor asked seemingly out of nowhere.

"Lance," Donna said with a sheepish smile on her face.

"Gotta like Lance," the Doctor replied thoughtfully.

"Oi! No stupid Martian is gonna stop me from getting married. To hell with you!" Donna yelled and ran off.

Mira nudged the Doctor, who was staring after Donna, in the side, smiled at him and said, "Martian, hm?"

"I'm- I'm not... I'm not... I'm not from Mars," he said feebly and then they ran after her.

As they reached her, she was shouting for a taxi, but the driver ignored her and just drove by.

"Why's his light on?" Donna complained.

"There's another one!" the Doctor said and immediately started to wave for it.

"Taxi!" Donna yelled and all three of them stumbled into the road, trying to stop it. But again, it just drove by.

"Oi!"

"There's one!" The Doctor had spotted another one. He ran and waved, but again, to no avail. "Do you have this effect on everyone? Why aren't they stopping?" he asked Donna.

"They think I'm in fancy dress," she said and tugged at her dress.

Another taxi drove by, the driver hotting his horn and yelling out of the window, "Stay off the scotch darlin'!"

"They think I'm drunk."

Right now, two guys were yelling out of the window of their car, "You're fooling no-one, mate!"

"They think I'm in drag!"

"They're idiots," Mira said. "You're a beautiful bride."

"Hold on, hold on," the Doctor said. He put his fingers between his lips and whistled. It was so loud that Mira and Donna winced and covered their ears. But it worked. A taxi stopped before them, and they clamped in the back seat.

"Saint Mary's in Chiswick, just off Hayden Road. It's an emergency, I'm getting married! Just... hurry up!" Donna said to the driver.

"You know it'll cost you, sweetheart? Double rates today."

"Oh, my God!" Donna said as if suddenly remembering something. "Have you got any money?"

"Um... no. And you?" the Doctor said and Mira only shook her head. Where should she have money from?

"Pockets!" Donna said and gestured at her dress.

The taxi driver finally had enough and threw them all out.

"And that goes double for your mother!" Donna yelled after him as he drove away. "I'll have him. I've got his number. I'll have him. Talk about the Christmas Spirit."

"Is it Christmas?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, duh. Maybe not on Mars, but here it's Christmas Eve," Donna replied, visibly annoyed now. Then she hit him, and pointed at something in the distance. "Phone box!" she said and rushed over to it, the Doctor following her.

Mira sighed and ran after them as well.

"We can reverse the charges!" Donna exclaimed as soon as they had reached it.

"How come you're getting married on Christmas Eve?" the Doctor asked.

"Can't bear it. I hate Christmas. Honeymoon in Morocco. Sunshine – lovely," Donna replied.

"Yeah, Christmas is totally overrated," Mira said. She didn't like it very much herself.

"What's the operator? I've not done this in years. What do you dial? 100?" Donna asked after the Doctor had opened the door to the phone box.

The Doctor just took his Sonic from his pocket and held it at the phone. "Just- just call the direct," he said.

But instead of doing so, Donna looked at him and asked, "What did you do?"

"Oh come on Donna, asking questions is fine, really, but sometimes you should just do what your told, don't you think?" Mira said in an attempt to speed things up.

"No, I want to know what he did!"

"Something- Martian. Now, phone. I'll get money!" he said and off he was – leaving Mira behind with Donna.

Donna had actually dialled a number and was now speaking into the phone, "Ohh, answer the phone!"

Mira decided to leave the phone box to give her some privacy, but stayed outside to watch her closely. She hadn't forgotten what the Doctor had said about her being dangerous. At least she had managed to get into the TARDIS somehow.

A few moments later – the Doctor was still nowhere to be seen – Donna left the phone box and stormed right past her.

"Donna, wait!" she yelled and followed her. She caught up with Donna as she had just managed to get some money from a woman.

"Donna, wait, there's no-" she tried to convince Donna to stop, but she didn't even listen.

"Taxi!" she yelled instead and this time it worked. A taxi stopped next to her, just as the Doctor came around a corner.

"Thanks for nothing, spaceman! I'll see you in Court," she shouted at him and then jumped into the taxi.

It didn't even take a second for Mira to make a decision. The Doctor was still too far away, and the taxi would most certainly not wait for him. She ran around the car, opened the door and jumped in, just as the taxi started to move.

Donna stared at her in shock, speechless for once.

"I think I'll come with you," she said to her. Well, he really had no idea how the Doctor would be able to find her – and Donna – again, but she was sure he would manage somehow. Apart from that, she would have an eye on Donna now.

"I promise you, mate - I'll give you the rest when we get there. Oh, I look a mess," Donna said. She obviously had found some words again. But, on the other hand, the driver not so much. She turned his attention to him – something was weird about him. She hadn't noticed it in the first place, because she was used to gliders driven by robots.

"Donna?" she asked quietly.

"What?"

"Is it common that taxis are driven by robots here?"

"What!?"

"Shush! Not so loud," she said, just as the driver obviously went into the wrong direction.

"Hold on a minute, I said 'Chiswick'. You've missed the turning," Donna said to the driver. But there was no response. "'Scuse me? We should've turned off back there. We're going the wrong way!"

"Donna, we have to get out of here!" Mira said quietly to her, and then addressed the driver, louder this time, "Who are you? What do you want?"

But he didn't answer.

"Fine. Who's your master? What's your mission?"

Still no response.

"Do you not have a speech-protocol or have you just been ordered to be silent?" she asked, but it was – of course – more of a rhetorical question.

Instead of showing any reaction to her questions, the robot just started to cut across the lanes, increasing speed and causing the other drivers to beep their horns. Mira grabbed for the handles on the door to not fall all over Donna.

 _Great. And all this on the wrong side of the road._

In her universe, right hand traffic had came out on top everywhere on Earth and the former Solar Empire.

"What the hell are you doing? I'm late for the wedding. My own wedding. Do you get that?" Donna yelled at the driver.

"Donna, stop it! I've told you-"

"Turn around! Turn this cab around right now! Are you deaf or what?"

She lunged forward and pulled the Santa hood off the driver. But not only the hood, but also his mask came off, and now it was plain for her to see that the driver was indeed a robot.

"Oh, my God," Donna whispered.

"I've told you! Now we have to get out of here!"

Donna started to push the door and the window, but everything was locked. Mira tried it on her side as well, but with the same result.

"Help me! Help me! Help me!" Donna yelled at the other drivers, knocking on the glass. "Help me! Help me!"

Nice try, Mira thought, but right here on the motorway was nothing to do for the other drivers.

"Help me! Help me! Get me out! Help me! Help me! I'm being driven by a robot!" Donna continued in her efforts.

Mira just looked around for something – anything - that could be of help, as a familiar blue box literally fell out of the sky, spinning through the air.

 _She's actually flying..._

She had never seen her fly before. She normally did just materialise, didn't she? At least on a planet, within an atmosphere. At least that was what he had told her.

" ... you are kidding me," Donna said. She had seen it as well.

"Nah, he does do things like that...," Mira replied dryly.

The TARDIS approached the taxi and was finally hovering next to it on the left side where Mira was sitting, the Doctor leaning out of the door, holding a string between his teeth.

"Open the door!" he yelled.

"It's looked!" Mira yelled back.

"He wants what? We're not opening the door!" Donna complained.

But it was too late, for he had pulled out his Sonic and unlocked the door and the window. Mira pushed it down, but before she could say anything, Donna was literally on her lap and said, "Santa's a robot!"

"Mira, open the door," he just said.

"What for?" Donna yelled.

Mira tried to shove her away a bit, if only for the sake of her ears. "We have to get out of here, Donna!" she said to her.

"Yes, you've got to jump!" the Doctor confirmed.

"I'm not bleedin' flip jumping, I'm supposed to be getting married!" Donna screamed in a voice so shrill that Mira had to cover her ears.

Just at this moment, the robot put his foot down and the taxi overtook the TARDIS. A few moments later, not without almost landing on the roof of another car, he had caught up with the taxi again. He soniced the robot and disabled him. Mira wasn't sure she liked that any better, because now the steering wheel was locked as well.

"Listen to me - you've got to jump," the Doctor tried to convince her. Well, at least Donna. She didn't need to be convinced. It wasn't that far from the taxi into the TARDIS, so if everything stayed as it was now, it would only be a rather small jump.

"I'm not jumping on a motorway," Donna said.

"Donna, it's not that far, really. Look!" Mira tried it and gestured at the gap between taxi and TARDIS.

"Whatever that thing is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good. Now, come on!" the Doctor said.

"You go first!" Donna said to her.

Reasonable plan, for there was no way Donna could get past her to jump first.

"Fine!" she said and stood up, as far as it was possible within the door frame.

"Come on Mira, I'll catch you!" he yelled, stretching out his arm.

"Just step aside, it's not that far," she replied and made the mistake to look down at the motorway. She looked up again, aimed for the door, took a deep breath – and jumped.

She landed safely inside the TARDIS, not without grabbing the Doctor's extended hand. Well, that hadn't been to hard – but on the other hand, she was used doing things like that and rather athletic.

"Now you, Donna!" he said to her.

"I'm in my wedding dress!" she yelled back.

"Yes! You look lovely! Come on!" he said and hold out his hand again.

Donna straightened herself, looking back and forth between the motorway and the TARDIS.

"I can't do it," she finally said with fear in her voice.

"It's not that hard Donna, believe me!" Mira yelled to her. "Just do like I did!"

"No, I-"

"Trust me," the Doctor said calmly.

"What about you?" Donna addressed her. "Do you trust him?"

For a moment, Mira was stunned. Perfect moment for such a question, wasn't it? What should she answer? Did she trust him? She looked at him, and their eyes met for the fraction of a second, before he looked back at Donna. Great. He was obviously waiting for an answer as well.

"When it comes to things like this, jumping across motorways and such, yes, I do trust him! Now jump!"

Donna looked at her for a long moment, but she seemed to be satisfied by her answer.

With a scream, she finally jumped and landed on the top of the Doctor, who landed on her, because she had been standing halfway behind him.

* * *

 _Sorry for the delay, but first, I had a slight writer´s block (and still am not completely satisfied with this chapter), second, I´m moving to Scotland in a few weeks and I´m a bit busy right now ;-) But I´ll try to keep on updating._

 _AxidentlGoddess, Ronin Kenshin, Falling Right Side-Up, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, bored411, time-twilight, Godric'sGrl01, Lucifae: Thanks for reading and leaving a review :-)_

 _Quasi-Stellar: Sure there is one ;D Just a bit delayed._


	46. Chapter 46 - The Runaway Bride Pt 2

**Chapter XLVI**

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor had landed the TARDIS on a roof and was now trying to extinguish the smoke that was coming out of the door. He joined Mira and Donna after shutting the door and said, "The funny thing is, for a spaceship, she doesn't really do that much flying. We'd better give her a couple of hours." He then turned to Donna, "You all right?"

She looked quite a bit upset, but she answered, "Doesn't matter."

"Did we miss it?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you can book another date..."

"Course we can," Donna replied sadly.

"Still got the honeymoon..." he tried to comfort her.

"It's just a holiday now."

"Yeah... yeah... sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Oh! That's a change," he said in surprise.

"Wish we had a time machine. Then we could go back and get it right."

" ... Yeah, yeah. But... even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline. Apparently." he said, smiling shyly.

He could see the suspicion in her eyes as she glanced at him, then she sat down on the edge of the roof. He sat next to her, but before that, he draped his jacket around her shoulders. It must be cold for a human in such a dress now. Mira was wearing long sleeves, but she looked a bit cold as well.

"God, you're skinny. This wouldn't fit a rat," Donna said to him.

Mira had sat down on the other side of her, not after cautiously glancing down to the street.

"Oh and you'd better put this on," he said to Donna and produced a ring from his pocket.

"Oh, do you have to rub it in?" she said indignantly, and even Mira shot him a warning glance.

"Those creatures can trace you. This is a bio-damper. Should keep you hidden," he said, ignoring them and slipped it onto her finger. "With this ring, I thee bio-damp."

"For better or for worse," Donna replied and he smiled at her.

"So, come on then. Robot Santas - what are they for?" Donna asked.

"Ah, your basic robo-scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in. I met them last Christmas."

"Why, what happened then?"

"... Great big spaceship? Hovering over London? You didn't notice?" the Doctor said.

"I had a bit of a hangover," she replied dismissively.

"A _bit_ of a hangover? Must have been some party," Mira said and looked at Donna, brows raised in admiration.

He decided to not pursue it, instead he looked at the landscape. "I spent Christmas Day just over there, the Powell Estate. With this... family. My friend, she had this family. Well, they were...," he said and then paused for a moment. Back then everything with Rose had been fine. Of course he had worried that she wouldn't accept his new regeneration, but it had turned out better than he had hoped. He looked over to Mira for a moment. She still didn't know about that. Not that he was planning on regenerating any time soon, but you'll never know. Maybe it was better to tell her now, instead of her finding it out for herself. Or maybe she would be so shocked by him telling her that she would leave instantly.

"Can't remember the last time I really celebrated Christmas Day," Mira said absent-mindedly into the silence.

"Your friend... who was she?" Donna asked him.

"Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know...," he said and outright ignored Donna's question. He could see how she rolled her eyes at him as he pulled his sonic screwdriver from his jacket. There still was something weird about her. How could she get into the TARDIS like that?

"What's your job?"

"I'm a secretary."

Whilst he scanned her, he said, "It's weird, I mean - you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important..."

"This friend of yours - just before she left, did she punch you in the face?" Donna said suddenly and looked him right in the eyes, then she whacked the Sonic aside. "Stop bleeping me!"

"What kind of secretary?" he asked as if nothing had happened, putting the Sonic away.

"I'm at HC Clements. It's where I met Lance. I was temping," she said and looked into space, "I mean, it was all a bit posh really. I'd spent the last two years at a double glazing firm. Well, I thought - I'm never gonna fit in here. And then he made me a coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee. And Lance - he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me! But he was nice, he was funny. And it turns out he thought everyone else was really snotty too. So that's how it started, me and him - one cup of coffee. That was it."

"When was this?" he asked.

"Six months ago."

"Bit quick, to get married..."

"Well... he insisted," she said.

He looked over to Mira, because her head had flung around to Donna. Their eyes caught for a moment and he saw the disbelief in them.

"And he nagged... and he nagged me...," Donna continued, obviously not noticing the expression on Mira's face. "And he just wore me down and then finally, I just gave in."

Mira looked away again and slightly shook her head.

"What does HC Clements do?" he asked and decided he would ask Mira later what that had been about.

"Oh, security systems, you know... entry codes, ID cards - that sort of thing," Donna replied. "If you ask me, it's a posh name for 'locksmiths'."

"Keys...,"he said musingly. Well, not that he had an idea yet what this was all about, but keys was a cue. The only question left was now: Keys for what?

"Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is gonna be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian-boy."

"Yeah," he said and looked at Donna, trying to correct her false assumption once more. "I'm not from Mars."

Donna nodded and he stood up, lending her a hand. Mira was already up as he turned to her.

"Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's gonna be heartbroken," Donna said.

 **…**

As they arrived at the reception, it was already in full swing, despite of Donna's concerns. Everyone was dancing to 'Merry Christmas Everybody', drinking and obviously having fun. Donna walked in ahead of him and Mira, and as soon as they noticed her, all heads turned to her.

"You had the reception without me?" she asked completely dumbfounded into the sudden silence.

"Donna... what happened to ya?" a man of colour asked and rushed over to her.

"You had the reception without me?" Donna repeated, slightly louder than before.

Before the following, awkward pause could get too long, he decided to introduce himself. "Hello! I'm the Doctor," he said cheerfully.

Mira added, "I'm Mira," and waved slightly with her hand.

"They had the reception without me," Donna said a third time, turning around to him.

"Yes, I gathered," he replied.

"Well, it was all paid for - why not?" a woman said snobbishly.

"Thank you, Nerys," Donna hissed at her.

Well, that would be Nerys then.

"Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end - "I'm on Earth"? Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick because I'd love to know-" another woman said whilst approaching Donna.

Suddenly, the whole room started to talk at the same time. Everyone seemed to want something to Donna. Suddenly, she bursts into tears, the crowd stopped talking and the man – the Doctor assumed it must be Lance – hugged her. She cried into his shoulder, and everyone started to applaud. For a moment he caught her eyes and she winked at him, making him smirk. Well, at least she wasn't crying for real, he just couldn't stand that.

"Humans," he quietly said to Mira. "Works every time."

"Nah, not humans. Women," Mira whispered.

He looked at her and saw the grin on her face. "Oh please, don't say that you can do that just as well?"

"Oh, you've no idea!"

 **...**

A little later he was leaning against the bar. Almost everyone was back to dancing now. Donna seemed to have fun, even though she had missed her own wedding. He looked for Mira and saw her standing a few yards away, holding on to a glass of sparkling wine, leaning against a party table. Again, she just looked lost and absent.

He walked over to her, and grabbed her hand before she had any chance to pull it away.

"So-" he started, leaning to her side and turning his head to her, but she interrupted him.

"We're _not_ going to dance!" she said, her face rather close to his and looked at him out of big eyes, almost a little bit shocked.

"What?" he said and frowned, because he was a bit taken by surprise. "No- no. We're not." He hadn't planned on that, and in fact he was glad that they had just sorted out that topic. "Actually, I wanted to talk about Donna. And Lance. You shook your head when she talked about him."

"Yeah. I don't think she told the truth. She didn't just exaggerate. There's something weird about Lance and this whole wedding."

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking as well. At least she somehow got inside the TARDIS."

"And you've no idea how that happened? I mean, it clearly wasn't a simple teleportation."

"Simple teleportation?" he asked.

"Yeah. At home there're teleporter... Anyway. It wasn't a teleportation. Nothing psychic at least." She looked around, sighed and continued, "I think I'll go outside for a while...," and put the glass on the table. She tried to pull her hand out of his, but instead of letting her go, he dragged her with him to a guy who just was about to put his mobile away. She shouldn't stand outside all alone right now.

"I think I know something better," he said to her and then to the guy, "Could I borrow that for a moment?"

The guy nodded and handed the phone over. The Doctor took it, walked a few steps away and leaned against the bar, Mira next to him. She opened the phone as he put his glasses on and searched for H C Clements. At least he tried, but the phone was just way too slow for his taste. He used his Sonic – not after casting a furtive look around the room – to speed things up a bit. Mira covered him inconspicuously with her body from a nosy woman who was standing next to them. Eventually, the result "Sole Prop. TORCHWOOD" appeared on the screen.

"So, it's Torchwood," Mira said quietly.

"Yeah," he said, closed the phone and handed it back. So, Torchwood seemed to be behind all this. But how could they possess technology like that? Transporting someone on the TARDIS? Right at this moment, he spotted a cameraman.

"Come," he said to Mira and walked over to him. "Say, you were filming at the wedding as well?" he said to him. "Can you show me?"

"Yeah, I taped the whole thing", he replied and put a tape in the camera, "They've all had a look. They said "sell it to You've Been Framed". I said "more like the News". Here we are..."

He and Mira looked at the small screen of the camera. It zoomed in on Donna's face, just as she disintegrated into golden particles with a scream.

"Can't be! Play it again?" he asked.

"What was it?" Mira wanted to know.

"Clever, mind! Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping," the cameraman said, earning an irritated glance from Mira.

The Doctor watched the scene again, his brows furrowed. "But that looks like... Huon Particles!"

"What's that?" the cameraman and Mira asked together.

"That's impossible, that's... ancient! Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years! So old that...," he explained, and his eyes were suddenly drawn to the biodamper he had given to Donna. " ... it can't be hidden by a biodamper!" He ran over to a window, Mira following him.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She had followed the Doctor and could it see for herself now – robots, disguised as Santas, approaching the house slowly. The Doctor immediately rushed back to Donna, and she followed him. Unfortunately. There was no time for him to explain what exactly Huon Particles were, but she would ask him later.

"Donna! Donna, they've found you," he yelled.

"But you said I was safe!"

"The biodamper doesn't work. We've got to get everyone out."

"Oh, my God - it's all my family...," Donna whispered after looking around.

"Out the back door!" the Doctor said.

"Are they armed?" Mira asked the Doctor.

"Most likely," he replied as they were running to the back door, but there were Santas as well.

"Great," she said and then they ran back inside and over to another window. More Santas.

They ran out the back door, only to be confronted with two more of the Santas.

"We're trapped," Donna said.

"What's that for?" Mira asked and pointed at the remote controls that were held by the Santas.

"Christmas trees...," the Doctor said thoughtfully.

She wasn't quite sure if that was an answer to her question.

"What about them?" Donna asked.

Mira turned her head and saw the big Christmas tree in the middle of the room. Yeah, what about them?

"They kill," the Doctor said and ran into the crowd.

"What?" Mira yelled and went after him. They had to get the people out then, or at least away from the Christmas tree. She had no idea how this thing could be dangerous, but right now she trusted the Doctor.

"Get away from the tree!" he yelled.

"Don't touch the trees!" Donna fell in.

"Yeah, everyone, get away from it!" Mira shouted as well. But no one moved. They just looked indignantly at them.

Donna ushered a group of little girls away from the tree and said, "Out! Lance, tell them!"

"Stay away from the tree!" the Doctor tried it again. "Stay away from the tree!"

"Oh, for God's sakes, the man's an idiot! Why? What's a Christmas tree gonna... oh!" the woman from before said just as the baubles floated away from the tree and spun through the air. Mira watched them mistrustfully. What was that supposed to be? Right now, the baubles were hovering over the head of the guests. Everyone was chatting and watching in excitement.

"Don't stand there, move!" she yelled and tried to get the people moving, but it was too late. The baubles moved again and started to explode. All hell broke loose as everyone started to scream and run for cover. Tables broke, people got injured and in no time the whole place was completely damaged. Mira did run for cover as well, trying to keep an eye on the baubles, but they were too many. Once more, she really missed something like a weapon or at least an energy shield, but she doubted she would have had a chance to hit these baubles with a gun. They were really fast. She barely saw how the Doctor made it to the DJ's stand. The Santas had entered the room now, and were lined up opposite to it.

"Oi! Santa! Word of advice: if you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver...," she heard the Doctor say over the screaming of the people, "... don't let him near the sound system."

A moment later, she covered her ears and winced with pain as a horrible, high-pitched screeching sound filled the air. As the sound stopped and she opened her eyes again, she saw the Santas lying on the floor. The Doctor was already crouching next to them and so she joined him.

"Who sent them?" she asked, ignoring the chaos around them. Yes, people were injured, but no one was about to die, and the others were helping them already. It was the top priority now to find out who was behind it, and if another attack was about to come.

"Don't know," the Doctor replied. "Look at that - remote control for the decorations." He showed her the remote control. "But there's a second remote control for the robots." He examined the head of one. "They're not scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession."

"And who?" she wanted to know, just as Donna showed up.

"Never mind all that, you're a doctor - people have been hurt," she said.

"Nah, they wanted you alive, look," he replied, and chucked a bauble in her direction. "They're not active now."

"All I'm saying - you could help," Donna said to him.

"That's what we're doing," Mira said. "We have to find out what's behind of it. As for the wounded people: Call an ambulance, they can help way better than we." She looked up at Donna and could immediately feel that she was slightly shocked by it. Most likely it sounded heartless to her, but she had to get the priorities right.

"Sure you're human? You talk just like him," Donna replied accusingly.

"Gotta think of the bigger picture... there's still a signal!" the Doctor suddenly said, after holding one of the bleeping heads to his ear, and so spared her an answer. With that said, he took off. Mira followed him. Behind her, she could hear someone talking to Donna.

"Donna... who is he? Who is that man?"

But Donna didn't answer. As Mira turned her head, she could see her following as well. Once outside, she saw the Doctor scanning the helmet with his Sonic.

"There's someone behind this, directing the robo-force," he said.

"But why is it me? What have I done?" Donna asked.

"If we find the controller, we'll find that out," he replied, still scanning the area. "Oh!" He raised the Sonic into the air. "It's up there. Something in the sky."

"A space ship?" Mira asked. She looked up, but of course, she couldn't see anything. Slowly, the place around her got filled with people, and an ambulance had arrived as well.

"Could be. I've lost the signal - Donna, we've got to get to your office, H C Clements. I think that's where it all started," the Doctor said, just as Lance rushed by. "Lance - is it Lance? Can you give me a lift?"

* * *

 _Ingridie, bored411, oXxgeorgiaxXo, Ronin Kenshin, 10th Squad 3rd Seat: Thanks for reviewing :-)_

 _Quasi-Stellar: I was thinking that as well, and I´ll see if I can make it a tiny bit faster without rushing it :-)_


	47. Chapter 47 - The Runaway Bride Pt 3

**Chapter XLVII**

 _Donna's POV_

They arrived at H C Clements, and immediately the Doctor ran into the building, side by side with Mira. Donna had no choice but to follow him with Lance at her heels. Whilst driving there, she'd had time to think about everything what had happened. And about this weird Martian and his girlfriend. At least she assumed Mira was his girlfriend, she had seen them holding hands. And she was just as weird (and thin as a stick) as him. Probably she was an alien as well, despite saying she was human. At least she clearly wasn't British; in contrast to him she was speaking with some strange accent.

 _Aliens_.

A few hours ago her whole life had consisted of work, leisure time and finally getting married. Then she had been transported into a space ship and from this moment on, everything had gone wrong, her wedding, her job, everything.

Meanwhile, they had reached her office. The Doctor (Didn't he has a name?) went straight to her computer. Hopefully he wouldn't do anything to it the company could trace.

"This might just be a locksmiths, but H C Clements was brought up twenty three years ago by the Torchwood Institute," he said.

"Who are they?" She had never heard of Torchwood before.

"They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf," he said as if that was enough of an explanation. She just stared at him.

" ... Cyberman invasion," he continued as if that would explain everything.

She continued to stare at him, slightly shaking her head.

"Skies over London full of Daleks?"

"Oh, I was in Spain," she suddenly remembered. Yeah, she had seen it on the news afterwards.

"They had Cybermen in Spain," he said.

"Scuba diving." Not that she had missed anything by not being threatened by Cybermen and Daleks. She still somehow believed it had all been a hoax of some sort.

"That big picture, Donna - you keep on missing it," he said as he darted over to another computer. "Torchwood was destroyed, but H C Clements stayed in business. I think... someone else came in and took over-," he paused to whack the monitor, "the operation."

"But what do they want with me?"

He suddenly turned to her and gave her his full attention. She almost had goosebumps as she saw the intense look in his dark eyes.

"Somehow you've been dosed with Huon energy. And that's a problem because Huon energy hasn't existed since the Dark times. The only place you'd find a Huon particle now is a remnant in the heart of the TARDIS. See? That's what happened. Say... that's the TARDIS," he said and showed her a mug, "And that's you," he reached for a pencil. "The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetised and WHAP!" He threw the pencil in the mug and shook it. "You were pulled inside the TARDIS."

"I'm a pencil inside a mug?" she said weakly. She still didn't fully understand it.

"Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up. Lance? What was H C Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?" he asked.

Donna turned to Lance as she waited for an answer. What the hell was going on here?

"I don't know, I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager," Lance said defensively.

The Doctor didn't answer but held his Sonic to the screen. A 3D plan of the building appeared.

"Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?" Lance said.

"Because maybe you're keeping something from us?" Mira said and glanced at Lance, her arms crossed.

Donna wondered for a moment how old Mira was. She found it quite hard to tell. Twenty-five maybe?

The Doctor looked at him for a moment as well, but Lance obviously had nothing to say to this.

"They make keys, that's the point. And look at this...," the Doctor said eventually and pointed at the screen, "... we're on the third floor."

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

They had left Donna's office and were now waiting for the lift.

"Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes?" the Doctor asked just as the door pinged open.

She went inside, the Doctor following her. There was indeed a button for basement, and another one saying 'lower basement'. There hadn't been anything beneath the basement on the plan.

"Then how come when you look on the lift, there's a button marked 'lower basement'? There's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official plans. So what's down there, then?" the Doctor spoke out what she was thinking.

"Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?" Lance said. He still was trying to sound surprised, and he really was a good actor. He knew something, and he was hiding something, she was certain of that. She had thought for a moment to confront him, but then had decided against it. It was better to let him go on with whatever he was planning, so they could see what it was. She only hoped she would sense any danger early enough. If she confronted him now, he would probably not tell them anything at all.

"No, I'm _showing_ you this building's got a secret floor," the Doctor replied.

"I'm just wondering why there's such an obvious button, if it's not on the plan," Mira said.

"Well, it needs a key," Donna replied, as if this would solve the whole riddle.

"I don't," the Doctor said and soniced the lock. "Right then, thanks you two, I can handle this - see you later," he said to Donna and Lance.

"Yeah, just get out of here, it could get dangerous," Mira added.

"No chance, Martian. You're the man who keeps saving my life, I ain't letting you out of my sight," Donna replied and joined them in the lift.

"Going down," the Doctor said, even though Lance was still standing outside.

"Lance?" Donna said pointedly.

"Maybe I should go to the police," Lance said.

"Inside," Donna commanded.

Lance obviously had no other choice then to obey and joined them in the lift.

"To honour and obey?" the Doctor said to him.

"Tell me about it, mate," Lance replied.

"OI!" Donna said as the doors closed and the lift started to descend.

As the lift reached the lower basement they emerged into a long, dark, and dank corridor that was only dimly lit with a green light.

"That's a huge basement for a building like that," Mira said. The corridor seemed to go on for ever.

"Where are we? Well, what goes on down here?" Donna wanted to know.

"Let's find out...," the Doctor said.

"Do you think Mr. Clements knows about this place?" Donna asked.

"The mysterious H C Clements? I think he's part of it," he replied. "Oh, look – transport," he added and pointed at some electric scooter.

Mira looked at them sceptically, but the Doctor seemed to be determined not to walk, so she gave in, and soon later they all were driving down the corridor on these things. It must have been some sight, and the Doctor and Donna seemed to think the same, as they soon burst out laughing. Lance on the other hand didn't seem to get it, and she herself didn't feel much like laughing right now.

The finally reached a door saying "Torchwood - authorised personnel only", so they stopped and the Doctor turned the wheel to open the door. Inside was a small chamber with a latter.

The Doctor peered upwards and obviously got the same idea as she.

"Wait here. Just need to get my bearings. Don't...," he said and pointed at Donna and Lance sternly, "... do anything. Mira, have an eye on them."

"What? Is this starting all over again now?" she complained. Was this going to be like Mickey and Rose on the Clockwork-Ship?

"I'm sure you'll manage," he said, smiled his compelling smile at her and started up the latter.

"Great," she whispered under her breath.

"You'd better come back," Donna yelled after him.

"I couldn't get rid of you if I tried," he replied.

"Donna... have you thought about this? Properly? I mean, this is serious! What the hell are we gonna do?" Lance said to Donna.

"Oh, I'm sure it is serious, isn't it?" Mira asked without waiting for Donna to answer. She looked at him intently and could feel his nervousness growing. Good. Being nervous mend making mistakes. Donna didn't say anything, just looked up the latter.

A few moments later, the Doctor came back and jumped down the last rungs.

"Thames flood barrier! Right on top of us. Torchwood sneaked in and built this place underneath," he said.

"What, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?" Donna asked astonished.

"I know! Unheard of," the Doctor replied.

Well, wouldn't be the first time for Torchwood to do something like that, Mira thought, remembering their Headquarters. They continued on their way and soon later they reached a laboratory. It was full of massive test tubes filled with a bubbling liquid and chemistry. She wasn't sure if that was human technology or not, but most likely it wasn't. At least not all of it.

She was about to ask the Doctor what he was making out of this, but he instantly exclaimed, "Oh, look at this! Stunning! Particle extrusion!"

"What does it do?" Donna wanted to know.

"Extruding particles?" she replied dryly and looked at Donna before she could stop herself. Well, that had been unasked for.

"Hold on...," the Doctor said and darted over to one of the tubes. He tapped it and said, "Brilliant. They've been manufacturing Huon particles. In case my people got rid of Huons, they unravelled the atomic structure."

"And what do they want with it? What are Huon particles anyway? Do they want to build a time machine?" she asked. He had mentioned that there were Huon Particles in the heart of the TARDIS, whatever that was.

"I have no idea what they want with it," he replied, without explaining what Huon Particles were.

"Your people? Who are they? What company do you represent?" Lance asked.

"Oh, I'm a freelancer. But this lot are rebuilding them. They've been using the river! Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base so they've got the end result - Huon particles in liquid form," the Doctor said and picked up a small test tube filled with the same liquid as in the large tubes.

"And that's what's inside me?" Donna asked.

Instead of answering, he walked over to Donna and turned a knob at the top of the tube, making it glow gold – and immediately, Donna started to glow as well.

"Oh, my God!" she breathed and looked down at herself.

"Because the particles are inert - they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then... HA!" he suddenly exclaimed, making not only Donna but herself as well jump out of her skin. From one moment to the next he was all enthusiastic. "The wedding! Yes, you're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle - oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine, WHAM go the endorphins, oh you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven! A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away, the particles reach boiling point, SHAZAM!"

Suddenly, Donna slapped him again, just as out of nowhere as before at the TARIDS.

"What did I do this time?" he asked indignantly.

"Are you enjoying this?" Donna yelled at him.

"Donna, would you mind stopping that?" Mira asked her.

"Why? He deserved it!"

"No! Yeah. Well, maybe he had it coming, but please, stop hitting people," she said and looked from Donna to the Doctor, who was visibly ashamed.

Donna shot her a long, incomprehensible look and then walked over to the Doctor, breathing heavily in her distress.

"Right, just tell me - these particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?" she asked.

"Yes!" he hurried to answer, but Mira could hear that he was lying.

Donna didn't seem to believe it as well. "Doctor... if your lot got rid of Huon particles... why did they do that?"

"Because they were deadly," he said gently.

"Oh, my God... "

"I'll sort it out, Donna. Whatever's been done to you, I'll reverse it. Trust me."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

Before he could think any further about the problem at hand, he got distracted by crashes and bangs that seemed to come from all around them.

"Oh, she is long since lost," a voice was heard and the wall right in front of them slid upwards. A secret chamber was revealed with an enormous round hole in the floor. "I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe... Until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!"

He looked around. Galleries along the walls were filled with armed robots, dressed in black hoods. And where was Lance? He had noticed that he was gone, but he had no idea, where. He doubted that he had fled, and as he caught Mira's eyes for a moment, he felled reassured in his assumption. What role was Lance playing in all this?

"Someone's been digging... oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser. How far down does it go?" he said after looking down the hole.

"Down and down, all the way to the centre of the Earth!" the voice was heard again.

"Whoever's talking isn't anywhere near," Mira whispered into his ear.

He nodded and replied to the disembodied voice, "Really? Seriously? What for?"

Donna shuffled forwards and said, proud like a child at school having the right answer, "Dinosaurs."

"What?" he asked irritated.

"Dinosaurs?" Donna repeated.

"Why would Dinosaurs being down there?" Mira asked, not less irritated as him.

"That film, Under the Earth, with dinosaurs. Trying to help!" Donna said.

"That's not helping," he replied.

"Oh, your so sweet," the hissing voice continued. "Even though I don't think I approve with you having to lady-friends."

"What?!" Who was that? He looked around but all there was to see was a cobweb at the ceiling. "Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?"

"High in the sky, floating so high on Christmas Night."

"I didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom! Come on, let's have a look at you!"

"Who are you with such command?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"Prepare your best medicines, doctor-man, for you will be sick at heart."

Suddenly, the shape of a gigantic spider appeared at the adverse side of the hole. He didn't trust his eyes at first. This couldn't be. He was about to say something, as he felt Mira shuddering violently next to him.

He looked at her and saw the disgust in her face. "You're not arachnophobic, are you?" he whispered.

"Slightly. But I have it under control," she replied, sounding not really convincingly.

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Hopefully she wouldn't panic now.

"I know it's an intelligent being. It's okay," she added.

He looked at her for a moment longer and then turned to the overgrown spider. He still couldn't believe it. They had vanished, ages ago. "The Racnoss... but that's impossible, you're one of the Racnoss!"

"Empress of the Racnoss."

"If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss? Or... are you the only one?"

"Such a sharp mind."

"That's it, the last of your kind," he said and then turned to Donna and Mira, "The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago, billions. They were carnivores, omnivores, they devoured whole planets."

"Racnoss are born starving, is that our fault?" the Empress said.

"They eat people?" Donna said as she was getting it.

"H C Clements, did he wear those- those erm, black and white shoes?"

"He did! We used to laugh, we used to call him the fat cat in spats."

He nodded and then pointed up to the web on the ceiling. A pair of black and white shoes were poking out.

"Oh, my God!" Donna said shocked. Mira was looking up at well, but didn't comment on it.

"Mm, my Christmas dinner," the Racnoss said and cackled.

"You shouldn't even exist! Way back in history, the Fledgling Empires went to war against the Racnoss - they were wiped out."

At this very moment the mystery of Lance's disappearance got solved. He reappeared on a balcony above the Racnoss, an ace in his hands, motioning them to stay silent.

"Except for me," the Empress pointed out the obvious.

"But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing," Donna said. "Oi! Look at me, lady, I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How comes I get all stacked up with these Huon particles?" She was obviously trying to distract the Racnoss as Lance descended the stairs, readying the axe he was carrying. "Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me," Donna demanded.

"The bride is so feisty!"

"Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big... thing. But a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!" Donna yelled.

The Doctor had the nasty feeling that this wasn't going to end well. He couldn't say why, but the next moment he was proved right. Lance swung the axe, the Racnoss turned to him, hissed and then both started to laugh.

"That was a good one. Your face!" Lance said to the Empress.

"Lance is funny," she replied.

"What?" It seemed that Donna was the only one who didn't see it coming, because Mira was shaking her head in silent disapproval.

"I'm sorry," he quietly said to Donna.

"Sorry for what? Lance, don't be so stupid! Get her!" Donna said, still not getting it.

"God, she's thick," Lance said full of pity. "Months I had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map."

"I don't understand," Donna said and he felt really sorry for her. She didn't deserve that. Yeah, maybe she was a bit thick from time to time, but she had her moments.

"How did you meet him?" he asked her.

"In the office."

"He made you coffee."

"What?"

"Every day, I made you coffee," Lance interrupted them, as if speaking to an idiot.

"You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months," the Doctor continued, ignoring Lance.

"He was poisoning me?"

"It was all there in the job title - the Head of _Human Resources_."

"This time, it's personnel," Lance replied and he and the Racnoss started to laugh again.

"But... we were getting married," Donna said.

"Well, I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap - "oh, Brad and Angelina - is Posh pregnant?" X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me, dear God, the never ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia. I deserve a medal."

"Oh, is that what she's offered you? The Empress of the Racnoss? What are you? Her _consort_?" he asked.

"It's better than a night with her," Lance replied.

"But I love you," Donna said.

"That's what made it easy. It's like you said, Doctor - the big picture - what's the point of it all if the Human Race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to... go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think you understand that, don't you, Doctor?" Lance said.

"So, this is what she offered you for betraying your own race?" Mira suddenly asked.

The Doctor's head flung around to her as he heard the cold disdain in her voice. They might not really be _her_ people, but she obviously couldn't shake off the ages she had spent fighting for them.

"Tell me, was it worth it?" she continued. "Because you know, I've seen people like you countless times. And not once, and I mean it, _not for a single time_ , it worked out in the long run for the traitor. What do you think she'll do with you when she's done with you? I tell you: New Year's Dinner!"

Lance didn't reply, but looked a bit shocked all of a sudden. It lasted only for a moment, then he was back to his boastful self.

"Who is this little physician and that woman? She's almost as feisty as the bride," the Racnoss said.

"What she said – He's a Martian. And she? Some Human, who cares?"

"Oh, We're sort of... homeless. Companions. Travel companions," he replied, took Mira's hand and squeezed it for a moment. "But the point is, what's down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's gonna help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?"

"I think he wants us to talk," Lance said.

"I think so too," the Empress confirmed.

"Well, tough! All we need is Donna!"

"Kill this chattering little doctor-man and his other lady-friend!" the Empress commanded.

"Don't you hurt him!" Donna said, suddenly standing in front of him. Well, she could be bold, he had to give her that.

"No, no, it's all right," he said.

"No, I won't let them!"

"At arms!" he heard the Empress command. Instantly, the robots aimed their guns and him and Mira.

"Ah, now. Except," he said.

"Take aim!"

"Well, I just want to point out the obvious-" he tried to say.

"They won't hit the bride. They're such very good shots."

"Just- just- just- hold on, just a tick, just a tiny- just a little- tick. If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So, reverse it... the spaceship comes to her," he said and turned the knob on the little tube full of Huon particles again. The glass started to glow as before, and so did Donna.

"Fire!" the Empress yelled.

Just as he heard the robots started to fire, the TARDIS began to materialise around them in a whirl of golden particles. It all went so fast that not a single bullet made it inside, but her hull got hit and he could feel her disapproval, even though it couldn't harm her.

He darted to the console, ignoring Donna's confused look and said, "Off we go!"

* * *

 _d0ct0rwh0l0ckf4n, Ronin Kenshin, oXxgeorgiaxXo, bored411, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, awesombanansplit8, SprinklesAreFun: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_


	48. Chapter 48 - The Runaway Bride Pt4

_Mira's POV_

Mira had watched in astonishment how the TARDIS materialised all around her. She had also felt her becoming miffed as the bullets hit her hull, even though she didn't get hurt by them. She wondered, not for the first time, how it must feel for the Doctor, being really connected to the ancient ship.

"Oh, you know what I said before about time machines? Well, I lied. And now we're gonna use it," she heard the Doctor say, obviously addressing Donna.

What was he about to do now? Racnoss. She had never heard of them before, and of course it had to be gigantic spiders. Back when she was young she had been absolutely phobic about spiders. She had never made a therapy, but over time she had learned to control it in a way that she didn't freak out completely any more. She didn't even know what it was about spiders – she guessed it was the eight legs and the way they were walking. Even now, just thinking about them made her shiver again and she could feel goosebumps on her arms.

"We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto bene! I've always wanted to see this. Donna - we're going further back than I've ever been before," the Doctor continued and she tried to get the spiders out of her head.

She looked at Donna and saw that she was crying silently. She turned to the Doctor who was peering around the console at Donna, and for a moment the only sound was the quiet clicks of the TARDIS as she was cooling down from the flight.

After a moment of consideration she sat down next to Donna on the jump seat and put her arm around her shoulders. She could feel that Donna was grateful for that little gesture, and they sat for a moment in silence. What was there to say anyway? That Lance was a prick who had used her only to betray his own people to some overgrown spider? Well, Donna had gotten that by know. Lance had made quite clear what he was thinking of her.

"We've arrived... want to see?" the Doctor finally broke the silence.

For once she didn't have to be able to sense his emotions to notice _how_ uncomfortable this whole situation made him. It was written all over his face.

"I s'pose," Donna said unenthusiastically and Mira took her arm of her shoulder.

She watched how the Doctor swung the monitor around, but then he said, "Oh, that scanner's a bit small. Maybe your way's best." He went over to the door, obviously waiting for Donna. "Come on."

She caught Donna's eyes for a moment and nodded at her encouraging. Sometimes a glance into space put things into perspective again. Well, most of the times actually. Donna finally stood up and joined him, Mira following her.

"No human's ever seen this. You'll be the first," he said solemnly.

"All I want to see is my bed."

"Donna Noble - welcome to the creation of the Earth," he said and opened the door.

 _Talking about perspective..._

The view was breathtakingly spectacular. They seemed to be in some sort of gas and dust cloud, beautifully lid by a sun. Enormous rocks were flying around them. Not that it was the first gas cloud she had seen, but now she realised that she was more or less standing directly in space. There was no glass in front of her, and no energy shield. Well, not one she could see, and normally they could be seen. Even the really good ones in her universe were always flickering slightly. One had to concentrate to see it, but it was definitely there. Now she had the feeling of really standing in space. She couldn't help herself but to carefully reach out with her hand, searching for the force field that had to be there to keep the air in. But as far as her arm reached, there wasn't anything. All she got was an irritated glance from the Doctor.

"Sorry. Just searching for the field that keeps the air in," she murmured and lowered her arm.

Now Donna looked at her as well.

"Where are we?" she hurried to ask. It was a yellow sun; it could be Sol, but of course there were countless other yellow suns in the universe.

"We've gone back 4.6 billion years. There's no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas," he explained and pointed at the star. "That's the Sun over there, brand new. Just beginning to burn."

"Where's the Earth?" Donna wanted to know.

"All around us... in the dust," he said.

"Puts the wedding in perspective. Lance was right. We're just... tiny."

Mira looked over to Donna. This had been pretty much her thoughts when she had first seen Earth from space. Well, it had actually been Earth and not a cloud of dust, and there hadn't been any wedding, but aside from that, yes, it puts things into perspective. That had also been the day when she had realised that she was never mend to spent her life on a planet. She had to be out there, in space. May it be dangerous and deadly, but it was worth it.

 _Was it?_

She had always felt drawn to the stars, even as a child. But would she have made the same decisions knowing beforehand that she'll end up here? Trapped with almost no hope of getting back? Not to speak of all the people she had lost, and all the horrible things she had seen out in space. Were these moments of utter and stunning beauty really worth it?

"No, but that's what you do. The human race. Making sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars. This whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed," the Doctor said.

"So, I came out of all this?"

"Isn't that brilliant?" he replied and grinned.

Mira looked at him and – besides all her negative thoughts – had to smile. After all his over nine-hundred years of living he could still see and appreciate the beauty in all this. Right at this moment, a massive chunk of rock floated past.

"I think that's the Isle of Wight," Donna said and for a moment they all laughed.

"Eventually, gravity takes hold. Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in, everything, piling in until you get the...," the Doctor explained.

"Earth," Donna said.

"But the question is... what was that first rock?"

Suddenly, a star shaped rock emerged through the clouds.

"That's a space ship," Mira said and pointed at it. It had to be, rocks just weren't shaped like that.

"The Racnoss...," the Doctor whispered and rushed back to the console. "Hold on - the Racnoss are hiding from the war! What's it doing?"

Mira looked out again, and the rocks and all the dust and gas were drawn towards the Racnoss Ship in time laps, making her slightly dizzy.

"Exactly what you said," Donna replied.

"Oh, they didn't just bury something at the centre of the Earth... they became the centre of the Earth. The first rock," the Doctor said, now standing in the door again.

"A Racnoss Ship at the centre of the Earth?" Mira said quietly. "Great." Well, at least in her universe that weren't the case, she was certain about that.

Suddenly, the TARDIS shuddered violently and she stumbled against the Doctor.

"What was that?" Donna asked.

"Trouble," he said, slammed the doors shut and hurried over to the console, trying to keep his balance as the TARDIS was still shaking.

"What the hell's it doing?" Donna yelled over the noise that filled the console room.

"Remember that little trick I pulled - particles pulling particles. It works in reverse - they're pulling us back!"

Mira could see how he desperately tried to stop the TARDIS but to no avail.

"Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?" Donna yelled at him.

"She actually has a handbrake," Mira replied. "But have you ever tried to drive with the handbrake on?"

Donna just stared at her.

"It works. Just a matter of how much you put your foot down. My mother had a habit of forgetting that..."

"Back-seat drivers, both of you," the Doctor said accusingly, but then he seemed to get an idea. "Oh! Wait a minute!" He pulled out some weird looking, rock covered panel from underneath the console. "The extrapolator! Can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!"

He put it on the console flipped some more switches and finally whacked the extrapolator with a hammer. "Now!"

The TARDIS materialised and he instantly ran to the door and opened it. They were in the corridor once again.

"We're about two hundred yards to the right. Come on!"

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He was running down the corridor towards the doorway leading to the Thames Flood Barrier, Donna and Mira following him.

"But what do we do?" Donna asked as they had arrived.

"I don't know! I make it up as I go along! But trust me, I've got a history," he said whilst listening at the door with a stethoscope.

"But I still don't understand. I'm full of particles - but what for?"

"There's a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth, but my people unravelled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss are stuck. They've just been in hibernation for billions of years. Frozen. Dead. Kaput! So you're the new key. Brand new particles, living particles! They need you to open it and you have never been so quiet."

He spun around, only to see that Donna and Mira were gone. Great. How did this happen? How could he have missed that? At least Mira was with Donna, he thought as he turned around again and opened the door, only to find himself confronted with one of the robots.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

 _Bloody robots._

She had made a mistake in not looking out for them. Standing with her back to that corridor and relying on her psychic senses had brought her into a rather unpleasant position next to that Racnoss on the balcony. Donna had it even worse, for she was hanging in the web on the ceiling, next to Lance. Well, so much for traitors, she had told him it wouldn't end well. Never trust someone who had already betrayed someone else, even more so if it were their own people. That's how it always went. As soon as traitors are of no further use, get rid of them.

"I hate you," Donna spit at Lance.

"Yeah, I think we've gone a bit beyond that now, sweetheart."

What were the plans of the Racnoss? She had no idea. Was she about to free the ship from the core of the Earth? Hopefully not. The Empress hadn't even shackled her, but there was no way to escape with all these robots. At least the Doctor seemed to be free. He would find a way to help them, wouldn't he?

"My golden couple. Together at last - your awful wedded life. Tell me; do you want to be released?" the Empress said to Donna and Lance.

"Yes!" they said as one.

"You're supposed to say "I do"."

"Ha. No chance," Lance declined.

"Say it!"

Lance looked at Donna and finally obeyed. "I do."

"I do," Donna sad too.

"I don't," the Empress said and laughed. She had one sense of humour. "Activate the particles. Purge every last one!"

As she had finished the sentence, Donna and Lance started to glow again.

"And release!"

The particles were extracted from Donna and Lance and floated down in the hole in the ground.

"The secret heart unlocks. And they will waken from their sleep of Ages." the Empress declared.

"How many are down there?" Mira asked her, trying to hide her disgust and fear, constantly thinking that this was an intelligent being and there was no need for repulsion. Even though it looked like a spider.

"Oh, so curious," the Racnoss said to her. "You'll see."

"What's down there?" Donna asked, not getting the obvious. Again.

"How thick are you?" Lance said.

"My children, the long lost Racnoss. Now will be born to feast on flesh!"

Instantly there was chirping and patters of feet heard coming up the hole.

 _Great. Even more spiders._

"The web-star shall come to me," the Empress said.

Web-star? Was there another ship? Somehow the Empress must have reached Earth.

"My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web."

"Use her! Not me! Use her!" Lance cried out.

"Oh, my funny little Lance! But you are quite impolite to your lady-friend. The Empress does not approve," the spider said and the web around Lance started to loosen until he fell down the hole.

"Laaaaaance!" Donna cried, but it was too late. Lance was dead.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

The robot had proven no match for his Sonic, and now he was approaching the Racnoss, disguised as a robot. He had witnessed Lance's dead, and had also overheard what the Empress had said about their children in the hole. No way she would set them loose on Earth.

"My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them!" the Empress declared, then she seemed to have spotted him. "So you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor-man."

"Oh well," he said whilst removing the mask and the hood. "Nice try. I've got you, Donna!" he said and aimed the Sonic up at her. Mira was more or less free to go, so he had no doubt she would sneak away as soon as the Empress was distracted.

"I'm gonna fall!" Donna screeched as the web around her loosened.

"You're gonna swing!" he replied, trying to sound reassuringly. And indeed, she swung over the hole, not without screaming, and towards where he was standing. He spread his arms, ready to catch her. "I've got ya!"

But somehow he had gotten it wrong. Instead of landing in his arms, she swung right underneath him and smashed into the wall with a dull bang, much to the exhilaration of the Empress.

"... oh. Sorry," he said and looked down. She was sprawled out on her back, but didn't seem to be injured.

"Thanks for nothing!"

"The doctor-man amuses me," the Empress said to him. "And your little lady-friend is quite sneaky. She might be of use to me."

He turned his head, and indeed, Mira was standing next to him now. She had actually managed to get away from the Empress.

"Empress of the Racnoss - I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you a place in the universe to coexist. Take that offer and end this now," he said. No way she would stay on Earth.

"These men are so funny."

"What's your answer?"

"Oh - I'm afraid I have to decline," she said and laughed at him. Well, she obviously wasn't getting how serious her situation was.

"What happens next is your own doing," he replied calmly.

"I'll show you what happens next," the Empress hissed. "At arms!"

The robots aimed their guns, and Mira ducked, tugging at his sleeve for him to do the same, seemingly out of instinct, but there was no cover behind the handrail.

"Take aim!" the Empress commanded and the robots took aim, "And—"

"Relax," he said quietly, pressing a button on the remote in his pocket. The robots immediately went limp.

"What did you do?" Donna asked.

"Guess what I've got, Donna?" he asked and looked down to her. Mira had stood up again in the meanwhile and looked down as well. "Pockets," he continued and produced the remote control out of his pocket.

"How did that fit in there?" Donna asked.

"They're bigger on the inside."

"Robo-forms are not necessary. My children may feast on Martian flesh," the Empress interrupted them before Donna could reply anything.

 _Mars._

Nothing against Mars, it was a beautiful planet, but no. Not Mars.

"Oh, but I'm not from Mars," he said, still without raising his voice.

"Then where?"

"My home planet is far away and long-since gone. But its name lives on. Gallifrey." He observed the Racnoss. She had asked for it, hadn't she?

"They murdered the Racnoss!" the Empress suddenly screamed, full of anger.

"I warned you. You did this," he said and produced a handful of baubles.

"No! No! Don't! No!" the Empress screamed, no panicking.

"Stop it! What are you doing?" Mira urged, but he ignored her. Certainly she had recognised the baubles as well. But the Racnoss had had her chance, and she had declined it. She had thought she could do whatever she wanted here, with he humans unable to defend themselves, and with him being from _Mars_. She probably should have done some research on the Solar System. There was no one living on Mars, at least not at this time.

He threw the baubles into the air and immediately they started to fly away. Some surrounded the Empress, some were smashing into the walls of the corridor, destroying them and letting the water from the Thames rush through in torrents. Another of the baubles exploded near the Empress and caused a fire at her feet. Water was flooding into the chamber and down the hole.

"My children!" the Empress cried, but he didn't care.

She had brought this solely onto herself. He barely felt Miras hand on his arm, as well as the water that was soaking through his clothes and the heat from the various fires.

 _Fires._

Unwanted feelings and memories suddenly flooded his mind, pictures of people burning; of a whole world in flames. But the Empress, unlike him, had had a choice. It was all the Empress' own fault.

"No! My children! My children!" the Empress still cried as more and more water rushed down the hole, drowning her children, but he didn't really listen to her.

"Stop it! Now!" suddenly a voice reached his ear. He turned his head and looked directly into Mira's eyes. He stared at her for a moment, and it was just as looking into a mirror. He couldn't say if it was because she had seen things like that herself, or if he really was seeing his own reflection in her features. Maybe his eyes were merely playing tricks. But it was enough to pull him back into reality and out of his memories. She was right, it was enough.

"Come on! Time I got you out!" he eventually said and they started to run up the stairs, soaking wet as they were.

"Transport me!" he heard the Empress yell. Fine. Maybe she was able to escape, it would take her quite some time to recover.

Finally they had reached the ladder and were climbing up.

"But what about the Empress?" Donna asked.

"She's used up all her Huon energy - she's defenceless!" he said and opened the hatch. Just in time for them to see the Racnoss Ship destroyed.

They climbed out into the night, holding each other and Donna and he were whooping and cheering in delight. Not so much about the destruction of the ship, but about the fact they had made it once more.

"Just... there's one problem," Donna said after catching her breath.

"What's that?" he asked.

"We've drained the Thames."

He looked down. Indeed, the Thames was completely empty, with ships laying on the ground.

* * *

 _Donna's POV_

Somehow her dress had dried inside the Doctor's weird ship, and now he had landed it right across from her house.

"There we go. Told you she'd be all right. She can survive anything," the Doctor said to her. He was leaning at the TARDIS, just as Mira did. They were a couple, weren't they? And if not, then they were siblings. Something like that.

"More than I've done," she replied.

The Doctor didn't answer but scanned her with this weird, bleeping thingy.

"Nope! All the Huon particles have gone. No damage, you're fine," he said.

"Yeah, but apart from that... I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day. Sort of."

"I couldn't save him."

"He deserved it."

He didn't reply, just raised an eyebrow on her. Mira looked equally lenient at her.

"No," she said after a moment, "He didn't." She looked around at the house. "I'd better get inside. They'll be worried."

"Best Christmas present they could have," he said to her.

"Yeah, but she hates Christmas," Mira said to him with a lop-sided grin.

"Yes, I do," she replied. "Just like you."

"Yeah."

"Even if it snows?" the Doctor said and looked at them both. Then he tweaked some hidden switch on his ship, and a ball of light shot out of the top. It exploded like a firework and it started to snow.

"Ugh, even more so," Mira frowned.

"Oh come on!" he said and nudged her in the side. "Don't be a spoilsport!"

"I can't believe you did that!" Donna said to him.

"Oh, basic atmospheric excitation," he said and grinned at her.

"Yeah, we have that as well where I come from," Mira added, nudging him back.

"Merry Christmas," she said and smiled at them. They really were a weird couple. Weird, but somehow cute at the same time.

"And you. So... what will you do with yourself now?" he asked.

"Not getting married for starters. And I'm not gonna temp anymore. I dunno... travel... see a bit more of planet Earth... walk in the dust. Just... go out there and do something."

"Well, you could always...," he said.

"What?"

"... come with me...," he finished the sentence and looked at Mira as if inviting her to say something.

"What? Oh, yes! Plenty of room in there," Mira hurried to say and patted the TARDIS almost affectionately.

Donna smiled. It was tempting. No, not tempting. A fascinating thought, an idea, but nothing more. So she didn't have to think long about an answer. "No."

"Okay," he said quickly, and she could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"I can't..."

"No, that's fine," he replied, trying to sound indifferent.

"No, but really... everything we did today... do you live your life like that?"

"... Not all the time," he replied.

"I think you do. And I couldn't."

"But you've seen it out there. It's beautiful."

She looked over to Mira. The other woman didn't say anything, but she could see in her face that she was silently agreeing with her. So she said, "And it's terrible. That place was flooding and burning and they were dying and you were stood there like... I don't know... a stranger. And then you made it snow - I mean, you scare me to death!"

For a moment it was silent, then the Doctor replied, "Well then."

"Tell you what I will do though - Christmas dinner. Oh, come on."

"I don't do that sort of thing," he said.

"It should be you and your family, not us," Mira added.

"You did it last year, you said so. And you might as well because Mum always cooks enough for twenty," she tried to convince him.

"Oh, all right then," the Doctor finally said. "But you go first, better warn them. And... don't say I'm a Martian." He pointed at his ship, "I just have to park her properly, she might drift off to the Middle Ages. I'll see you in a minute."

She watched him disappear inside the TARDIS and the whole ship started to dissolve. It was then she realised that he wasn't just parking it properly.

"Doctor! Doctor!" she yelled, and a moment later the engines stopped and he popped his head outside the door.

"Blimey, you can shout."

"Am I ever gonna see you again?" she asked, right as Mira's head appeared in the door as well.

"If I'm lucky," he replied.

"Just... promise me one thing: stay with her," she said and nodded at Mira.

"Oh, certainly."

"No, really. I don't know what the two of you are. A couple, siblings, friends... Just stay with her. Because sometimes I think you need someone to stop you."

"Yeah," he said quietly. "Thanks then, Donna - good luck - and just... be magnificent."

"I think I will, yeah," she said and smiled back at him.

"Bye Donna!" Mira said and she waved at her.

Just as the door was closed again, she yelled once more, "Doctor?"

He opened the door once more and asked with mocked exasperation, "Oh, what is it now?"

"That friend of yours... what was her name?"

After a moment of hesitation he answered, "Her name was Rose."

Then he closed the door again. Instead of starting to dematerialise again, the TARDIS shot up into the night like some sort of rocket. Donna watched with a smile until it was out of sight and then walked back home.

* * *

 _Ronin Kenshin, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, bored411, oXxgeorgiaxXo: Thanks for reviewing :-)_


	49. Chapter 49 - A New Home

**Chapter XLIX**

 _Doctor's POV_

"So, a Torchwood Facility then. Again," he heard Mira say.

He lifted his head and watched her walking around the console.

"I wonder who's their new leader," she continued. "We should keep an eye on them. A close eye."

"Why?" he asked and flipped a few switches. Not that he didn't agree with her, but he was curious for her motives.

"Why? Do you think I want a bunch of paranoid xenophobics to lead humanity into space? To build some new British Empire? Certainly not. I mean, for I'm staying here for- well, a while, I don't want this to happen. Nothing against the Brits, I like them, really, I do. But well, you get the point, don't you?"

"But a Human Empire would be fine?" he asked and watched her closely. Had she really accepted that she had to stay here now? She had tried to pull herself together since Donna had appeared in the TARDIS, but it had been just that, a try. Not even a particularly good one.

"Depends. As long as it's not led by a bunch of xenophobic warmongers, I guess I could be fine with it. I mean, it's high time for them to overcome their quarrels, don't you think?" she replied and eyed him intently, as if thinking about something. "You know what happens to humanity, don't you?"

"Yeah, of course," he said and stared back at her. He knew where this was going. "Do you really want to know?"

"I-" she sighed. "I don't know. Maybe... Just, will they survive?"

"Oh yeah, they will. They so will," he smiled at her. Yes humanity would make it for a while. "They'll spread all over the galaxy, mingle with other species, evolve, leave Earth, find a new one-"

"What!? Leave Earth? As in: leaving it completely?"

"Yeah... As said, there's New Earth and-"

"Why? Why would they do that? Will it be destroyed?"

"Well, in a few billion years when the sun explodes, but they'll leave long before that. It was quite a sight, but unfortunately I can't take you there, I've been there already..."

"Quite a sight? You've watched the end of my homeworld? Great." she said and crossed her arms, obviously forgetting about the fact that it wasn't actually _her_ homeworld.. "But why? Why do they leave before that?"

"Don't know. They just do. It was a bit overcrowded, a bit polluted, but-"

"So they just left it? Their own _homeworld_? How can they do that?"

"Well, as said, they've found a new planet. New Earth, it's lovely, really, it is, with apple grass and New New York- Well, technically it's New New New New- anyway. Do you want do see it?"

"What?! No!" she said and shook her head in disbelief. "Maybe Torchwood's exactly what they deserve then. Next you tell me that they do forget where they come from, don't they?"

"Well, eventually...," he said and rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn't sure he really liked where this was going. Of course he could understand how much one could be attached to one's homeworld. He missed Gallifrey every waking second. Oh, he really had avoided setting foot on it when he was still able to, but now he wished for nothing more than to see this old planet again.

She didn't reply, just sat down on the jump seat. Slowly he walked over to her and sat down beside her.

"They just moved on," he said gently. "They survive, isn't that what matters? Everything ends, everything has its time and place. Things change. They'll live on, just somewhere else."

"Everything ends? That's it? What about fighting for what's important?"

"They leave because they want to. Obviously Earth wasn't as important to them as it's to you."

"Obviously," she said and he could hear the bitterness in her voice. "It's not just me," she continued after a moment of silence. " _We_ would never leave Earth. We would do everything to protect it."

He looked at her from the side. She didn't sound utterly convinced by her own words. It wasn't that he didn't believe her. Sure enough, she and her friends, who were like her, would do everything to

protect their home. But without them, humanity would probably be not that attached to Earth.

Actually, it happened quite often that a species ventured out into space, only to forget where they came from.

At least if there not led by a bunch of immortals. Even for him it was hard to imagine seeing everything around himself change with him staying more or less the same. Seeing new generations growing up who didn't care much for the past, even more so if that past was a thousand years ago. For them it was ancient history, for her something she had witnessed it with her own eyes.

It had been different with his people, for they were all long-lived like him. And, no matter how long-lived one was, there was no escape from time. Even if one managed to survive, finally everyone would die of old age. Even he himself. That was what really set her and him apart from each other.

"What?" she asked eventually, turning her head to him.

"Hm? I didn't say anything-"

"You're staring at me."

"Do I? Really? Nah..."

"Whatever," she replied and rubbed her face. "I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Night," he said and watched how she left the console room.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She had taken a shower and tried to sleep, only to find herself in a weird dream, running through endless corridors that looked like the ones in the TARDIS. She knew she was looking for her father, because there was something really important to tell him, but no matter how far she followed these corridors, she never seemed to come any further. Doors closed behind her, others opened, but didn't lead anywhere. It felt like running in circles, and finally she woke up, drenched in tears and completely disorientated.

She went under the shower again, put on a black, knitted, knee-long dress, some black, woollen stockings and flat shoes and went to the library. Fortunately, the Doctor wasn't there. She didn't think she looked as if she had cried any more, but who knew what he was able to recognise. She just wasn't feeling like talking about it.

As she wandered along the shelves, she realised that the TARIDS felt emptier than before. Rose was gone, and even when she had been in her room, her presence had somehow filled the old time ship. Probably because the TARDIS had been aware of her because she was psychically connected to all her passenger.

She stopped and listened for a moment to the feelings she got from the TARDIS. She didn't seem to be particularly sad that Rose was gone; rather indifferent. She was missing her slightly, but at the same time she seemed to have known how it would end.

Of course she had, she suddenly realised. The TARDIS was a time machine and a sentient being. If the Doctor was able to see time-lines, the TARDIS must be as well - maybe even better than him.

She continued to walk the shelves, not really sure what she was looking for. Suddenly, she stood in front of a whole shelf filled with similar looking books.

"Complete History of Mankind" they were saying, covering a range of fifty years each, starting far in the past and going on to far beyond the seventieth century.

She hesitated for a moment. She was indeed interested in that topic but... She didn't want to know it at the same time; she didn't want to get familiar with a history that wasn't hers. And most of all, she didn't want to get more accustomed to this universe. And by getting into human history, it would become a lot more real.

But, after some moments, her curiosity got the better of her, and she grabbed "Complete History of Mankind, 2050 – 2100"

She was weighing the book in her hands as she was thinking were to go next. It was heavy and old looking, and she wondered when it had been written. Or when it was about to be written, who could tell things like that when travelling with a time machine.

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. It was a daring thought, some might have even called it megalomanic. Well, most people actually, and probably they were right.

Maybe she should try the same thing here what her father had done on Earth ages ago. Maybe there was a way to unite humanity and lead them out into space. Without them forgetting about Earth. Well, she didn't have an Arkon explorer ship and superior technology, but she had knowledge of almost sixteen-hundred years. And, most of all, she had time. She would easily outlive anyone who would get in her way. She could make up plans spanning over centuries and work on them for the same amount of time.

As the thought was forming in her head, her gaze fell on the books again. History was already written, wasn't it? But hadn't the Doctor himself said, that time could be rewritten? Probably she should ask him, but then he would want to know why she was asking. And there was no way she would tell him about her idea. And right now, it was just that. A thought, an idea. Something she should push aside instantly. This wasn't her personal playground for her political ambitions. Plus, she never really had had the ambition to rule. She had always been satisfied with the role as an advisor. She hated to make decisions, and above that, she wasn't really good at it anyway. And that didn't mean the small, simple, fight-or-flight decisions, but the big, major ones that could influence the fate of a whole species for centuries to come. Decisions where there was no good and bad choice, but only bad ones. Aside from that, she really wasn't a leader. She could do it if she had to, more or less, but she had never liked it.

Anyway, the Doctor certainly wouldn't approve of it. Most likely she would fail miserably anyway and end up in some Torchwood laboratory. So no point of going further into all this 'time can be rewritten' thing. At least not right now. The top priority now was Torchwood, they already had agreed that they should keep an eye on them, and maybe she should focus on that for now.

Almost without thinking, her steps led her to the observatory. She liked the place, even though she hadn't quite come to terms with the strange and foreign universe above her head. It was the tranquillity, the timelessness of this place, the antique look of it that she found comforting.

She was very well aware that the Doctor most likely would pop up here sooner or later, but she didn't want to sit in her room now. And it wasn't that she was avoiding him. Not really. A bit maybe. But only because she still wasn't completely sure what there was between the two of them. Plus, it seemed there was almost nothing she could hide from him when it came to her feelings. Normally it was the other way around, had been like that for all her life. With him, she was completely unaware what was going on in his head and she had to rely solely on her normal senses; a rather uncommon territory for her.

Once in the observatory, she went over to the sofa, put her shoes off, sat down in the corner and wrapped herself in the soft, TARDIS-blue blanket. Then she looked at the book in her lap. She let her fingers ran over the embossed title and traced along the delicate, golden lines on the dark red linen cover, but she couldn't bring herself to open it. Instead she was thinking again about the idea that had crossed her mind. It was madness, complete and utter madness, and yet she couldn't get it out of her head. It was something to focus on, something that, in a way, belonged to her, unlike any other thing around her. Nothing, neither the clothes she was wearing nor the room or her bed, was hers. But there was simply no way that she could mess with humanity's history in this universe. But there was nothing wrong with thinking about it, wasn't there?

She was just about to put the book aside, as the door slowly opened and the Doctor entered the room, one hand in his pockets, with the other closing the door.

"Oh, I thought you were sleeping?" he said and collapsed on the couch next to her, leaning on his side so that he looked straight at her, his one arm on the back of the couch.

"I was," she said and finally put the book aside.

"Oh, human history," he said and pointed at it, "Interesting stuff. A bit dry from time to time, and sometimes it repeats itself, but apart from that... Interesting. You still look tired."

"Thanks!" she said and raised a brow.

"You're welcome," he said with a cheerful smile that quickly turned into a frown. "What for?"

"Never mind," she said and chuckled. Aliens. Although, he definitely had a sense for human irony and sarcasm, it only seemed to be a bit selective. "Yeah, it definitely has a tendency to repeat itself. At least in my universe. Just the scale of things changes. They were fighting each other on Earth, and later, when the Empire was about to fall apart, the human colonies started to wage war against each other again. Sometimes I have the feeling they will never learn. At least not for very long." She turned to her side as well, so that they were facing each other now, and wrapped herself closer into the blanket, her one hand resting on the couch next to his.

"Oh, I might say, a few generations is quite long for them, isn't it?"

"Maybe that's so. But they still could grab a history book and see that all their mistakes have been made before." She paused and studied his face. He had freckles. She had never consciously noticed that. "Well, it's not that they won't learn at all," she continued. "I guess it's just how humans are. Striving for independence, trying to live on their own, and such... Maybe they should finally learn about the waging-war-part. Or maybe we tried to keep the colonies under the rule of the Empire for too long. There are always two sides involved, at least."

"There I thought the Solar Empire was a good time?"

"It was. And it worked for a very long time. It's just... I hate endings. Even more so if it's a bad ending. And changes. I really do hate it. And if it was for me, the Empire could have went on as it was, until all eternity. Never changing, ever."

"Sounds a bit boring to me," he said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. But at least I wouldn't have to worry about the future if nothing changes. With changes comes loss, and that I hate even more. No matter what it is. Friends, my home, my-"

"Oh, speaking of home," he suddenly interrupted her and almost made her jump. He reached into one of his pockets and produced a key, hanging on a silver chain. "I just remembered I haven't given you a key to the TARDIS yet. I just thought, as you're living here now, you should have one."

He handed it over to her. It looked just like a normal key – one she hadn't seen for ages, because everything was working now with electronic locks, secured by brainwave scanners, but back in her youth they had had keys like this one. But as she touched it, she could actually feel that it was no ordinary key.

"Thank you," she said with a soft smile and hung it around her neck after taking a long look at it. "Really, thank you. I guess I'm a bit less homeless now, aren't I?. So, we're flatmates now? Sort of?"

"Yeah, I think so," he said and smiled at her. Oh hell, these beautiful wrinkles around his eyes when he was smiling. He actually did smile a lot, and it was as if his whole face lid up, even though the look in his eyes remained somehow sad most of the times. Maybe it was because they were so big and dark, but she knew that wasn't the only reason. And she hadn't forgotten about the look on his face back at Earth, when he had drowned the children of the Racnoss. There had been something dark in them, something unforgiving.

"Do you worry a lot about the future?" she asked. "I mean, with a time machine, you can easily go and see. How about your own future?"

"Can't cross my own timeline. And why would I spoil all the fun?"

"Fun? Really?"

"Yeah. Maybe... Just maybe, and that's only a wild guess - you're worrying a bit too much?"

"Oh, don't you say!" she said in fake surprise with a lop sided grin. "Guess what, I've heard that before."

"No!" he said, equally faking surprise.

"Yes! Someone once said to me, why worry about the future? It'll happen anyway, whether you worry or not. So you could easily stop."

"Sounds like a wise person to me."

"Yes. Yes he was," she said quietly.

And that hadn't been the only thing he had said to her. He had taught her so much about living in the here and now, and that it was so much better to enjoy the things they had and the time they could spend together, even though knowing it would end for certain. She would grieve anyway when these times were over, so wouldn't it be better to have memories of good times instead of living on with regret about staying distant from him out of fear and anticipation of the future? And he had been right. She had been heartbroken when he died, and she still was in some way. But now she could find comfort in the memories of their time together instead of living in regret that she had never given their love a chance.

Strange that she had to think about it right now, when she was sitting here with the Doctor, his face so close to hers and his deep, dark eyes focused on her. She felt as if she could drown in them, and forget about everything else. She remembered the short moment their minds had almost touched, just before Mickey had interrupted them. Well, it had been slightly more than almost – but it had only been skin-deep. Suddenly, she was longing to feel it again. The presence of his mind against her own, or, more likely, in her mind this time. To _really_ see him, get to know him with all her senses – not only with her somehow limited, normal, human senses. Even though she still couldn't sense his emotions, there seemed to be something between them right now; a certain kind of tension. Or was she just imagining it?

At the same time, she suddenly felt guilty. Here she was, all alone in another universe and instead of looking for a way back she was thinking about her private feelings. It really wasn't the most appropriate time for that, was it? She had to stay focused, instead of...  
Thinking about kissing him again. Dammit, she didn't even know if he was into human women. Well, there had been certain hints that he maybe was – but nothing to be completely sure.

For a moment she wondered why the situation seemed to be so intimate now. They had been alone in the observatory before, but it had been different. They had never just looked at each other like _that_ , without words. Then she realised what had changed. Rose wasn't here any more. Rose had always been on their minds in some way, even if she had been in her room. Well, at least she had been on hers. Her presence had lingered in the TARDIS, filled the rooms and had been standing between them like an invisible wall. Talking about Rose had been a welcome distraction for her. Now they were all alone in this huge ship with nothing to hide behind, and with realising this, her heart started to race.

 _Great._

She suddenly felt like a teenager who was alone with her heartthrob. Hopefully she wasn't blushing right now. Wait. He could hear her heart, couldn't he? Oh hell. And as if that wasn't enough, she felt a light touch on her fingers. She looked down at her hand and saw his fingertips touching hers. A moment ago that hadn't been the case, she was sure about that.

"What?" he asked softly and made her look up again.

She almost forgot to breathe as she saw the look in his eyes. She had seen it before – just after he had removed the block in her mind he had built there to protect her from the agony of the Cybermen. Even though his eyes looked so utterly alien now, she could see the loneliness and longing in them. It was a gaze so intense, it sent a shiver down her spine.

"What 'what'?"she asked, feeling as awkward as she hadn't in a very long time. He certainly could hear her heart, she knew it. It was pounding in her ears so loud that no one would have been able to miss it.

"You look scared."

"Do I? I-" He was right. She was scared. But not of him. It was the whole situation. Not knowing what she wanted. No. She knew exactly what she wanted, and that scared her. She could feel that it was getting out of her hands, that she was about to leave safe territory.

"Yes, you do."

"Oh, well... no. It's just...Uhm. I- I always look a bit scared. It's just how my face looks. I'm just- you were right. I'm tired," she stumbled and pulled her hand away from his. "I think I'll try to sleep a bit more."

"Yeah? Okay," he said, trying to sound indifferent.

But she knew that tone in his voice by know. Nothing was okay. But she really couldn't, she shouldn't stay right now. Their relationship was fine as it was. Companions, nothing more. It was working. She didn't want to risk it for something new that maybe wasn't even there. Probably she really was just seeing things, and would totally embarrass herself. Even if not, taking a step forward now ment there was no turning back. It could destroy everything if it went wrong. She freed herself from the blanket and stood up, carefully avoiding to trip over it again.

"So, good night then, again," she said and smiled awkwardly.

"Night."

She walked to the door, feeling his eyes in her back, and she only noticed when she had almost reached her room that she had completely forgotten to put on her shoes.

* * *

 _Sorry for the delay again. Only two weeks until moving, so much to do, so little time ^^_

 _I was thinking about doing some Doctor-meets-Doctor episode with the fourth Doctor and probably Leela as a companion. I'm not quite sure yet which one, so if you have any suggestions, just feel free to send me a message._

 _Ronin Kenshin, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, oXxgeorgiaxXo, bored411: Thanks for your reviews :-)_

 _Falling Right Side-Up: I actually was thinking that something like that might come up in a review. I was thinking myself that my OC was not much more than some sort of side-kick in that episode. It was really hard to get her in it at all, because it is so centred around Donna, so hopefully that was just a problem of that particular episode. (I really do like that episode, but it isn´t an easy one to write an OC in)  
_ _And yes, there's a lot of dynamic missing with Rose gone, but I'm quite optimistic that I'll find a new one with Martha. Certainly not the same jealousy sort of thing, but something else :-)  
_ _What I wanted to say: I share your thoughts and I'm aware of the problem. :-)_


	50. Chapter 50 - Destiny of the Daleks Pt 1

**Chapter L**

 _Doctor's POV_

He had headed back to the console room shortly after Mira had practically fled from the observatory. Now he was fiddling around with some cables and stuff underneath the console, trying to make any sense out of the whole situation. Her behaviour, his behaviour – even though he hadn't done anything. She had suddenly looked all scared and then almost ran away, even forgetting her shoes.

Of course he had noticed the difference – Rose was gone. And even though they had been alone in the TARDIS before, Rose had always been on his mind, her presence had lingered in the old time capsule. Now she was gone, for good. He didn't feel as sad as he thought he was supposed to. He missed her, but at the same time he knew she was safe, with her parents and Mickey. And he still couldn't forgive her, not even now. He could basically understand why she had acted like she did, but it would always stand between them.

He wondered if Mira had forgiven him by know, for what he had done and said on Kroptor. Now that he knew how hard it could be to forgive – not even speaking about forgetting. Was it because of this she was on a distance to him now? But she had kissed him, hadn't she? Did it really mean nothing to her? Well, not that he was that much into all that human-kissing-thing, but- Well, he had liked it and he wouldn't have anything against repeating it. At least not with her. Oh, and there were other things, but even though she was psychic, she was still only human, and he had no idea if it would work out at all. Surely, their minds hat touched for a short moment, but that hadn't been more than skin deep. But even if it wasn't working, or if she wouldn't want it, he could just sit there and look her in the eyes, knowing that she was here – here with him. Just being close to her, and maybe some day she would stop building that wall around her, letting him even closer. If she really was feeling the same. But maybe he should just drop the whole thing, because it was pointless anyway. And, apart from that, she would leave him anyway, as soon there was a chance of getting home for her. Not that he expected that one would come up, but one could never know.

"Ow!"

He had gotten zapped on some wires. Again. They weren't even blank. So...

"What now?" he whined and accusingly looked around. But there was nothing but silence, not even mischievousness from the TARDIS.

"I might say, you know exactly what that was for," he suddenly heard a dry voice from above. "At least we say that where I come from - originally, I mean - when someone gets slapped seemingly out of nowhere without any obvious reason. Well, if they get slapped by someone they know at least."

He looked up, and Mira was sitting on the floor, looking down on him. Suddenly he had some sort of deja vu.

"Anyway. Are you hurt?" she continued, no sounding rather concerned.

He watched her and saw that she was still wearing the same clothes, and she had gotten her shoes. Only her hair was braided now. How long had it been? Little more than an hour, so she most likely hadn't been sleeping, unlike she had told him.

"Nah. Just had my fingers where they shouldn't be," he said, got up and closed the floor. She got up as well, and he turned to the console, but watching her out of the corner of his eye. She was acting rather normal, wasn't she?

"So, where'd want to got? Somewhere, but not Earth? A planet?" he continued as he started the engines. "Just switch on the randomiser. Oh, haven't used that one for... too long. Anyway. So, planet? Atmosphere? Not Earth? Here we go! Let's have a nice walk on some lovely, peaceful planet. Well, at least I hope it'll be peaceful."

"Could please not say such things?" she asked him as she hold on to the hand-bars as the TARDIS shook and swayed.

"Ah. Won't be that bad," he replied, knowing exactly that the chances for that were rather low.

A few moments later they materialised and he switched off the engines. A quick look to the scales told him that they were indeed on some planet with a breathable atmosphere. But rather high levels of radiation. Could be from a war. Or a natural source, what he would have preferred. He searched in his pockets for a moment and produced some pills and handed one to Mira.

"Here, take that."

"What's that?"

"Anti-Radiation-Pills."

"Such a shame. Would have hoped for some LSD. Why? Is there radiation? How much? Where does it come from?" she asked as she looked at the pill.

"Not that much. As long as you take that, your fine. Will be enough for a few days. I had some once that only lasted for some hours. Don't know where it's from. Why do you want LSD?"

"Why not? And as for the radiation: Then do an analysis. It'll show if it's artificial radiation or from some natural source."

"Oh come on! Takes all the fun out of it!"

"Fun? Stumbling into the ruins of some nuclear war? We really have to talk about your sense of humour and your understanding of fun," she said and suddenly he felt slightly guilty. No. Of course it wasn't fun, but that wasn't what he had meant. But before he could explain himself any further she had turned around and headed for the door.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira opened the door slowly, but instead of a devastated world she looked into a blue sky, sunlight and- Well. It wasn't exactly green fields, more a quay, but definitely nothing that looked like a nuclear war had taken place. Or it had been ages ago. But then the radiation should have ceased by now. Or maybe it had been on other parts of the planet, and radiation had been carried here with little dust particles by the winds.

"Doesn't look too bad, does it?" she heard the Doctor right behind her.

"No, indeed not," she replied, still having the bitter taste of the pill on her tongue. "Almost looks like Earth," she added as she walked away from the TARDIS, trying to keep her balance on the uneven rocks and stones beneath her feet. As she noticed that the Doctor wasn't following her, she turned around. He was still standing in the door and looked a bit confused. "What is it?"

"Hm? Ah, nothing. Just had something like a deja vu. Seems familiar."

"You've been here before?"

"Maybe..." he said and caught up with her.

"Or maybe it's just because it's a planet like million others in the universe. Let alone on Earth are countless places looking exactly like that one."

"Oi, it's not Earth! You said you don't want to go to Earth again! The sun has a different colour, it's slightly more reddish, the composition of the atmosphere-"

"I know, it's not Earth!" she said, but he was seemingly unimpressed and went on rambling about chemical differences. Hadn't he said he won't run an analysis? For that he knew an awful lot about the planet. By now they were walking along higher rocks, smaller trees, and suddenly she spotted some ruins.

"Doctor!"

"And the gravitation is slightly higher than on Earth, and-"

"Doctor!"

"What?"

"Ruins. There. And-" she stood still for a moment, "We're not alone here."

"No? Great, company!" he said and smiled.

"Maybe we should leave," she said. Something here was odd. Very odd. She continued to follow the Doctor, who obviously wasn't in for leaving. They were just walking through some narrow corridor with stone walls to their left and right, as an explosion shook the ground. Rocks came falling down and instinctively she jumped backwards. The Doctor on the other hand ran forwards, and the next moment she saw rocks coming down where they had just stood a second ago. As soon as everything was quiet again and she was about to shout for him in the hope he wasn't buried, she heard a shout from the other side, "MIRA!"

"It's okay, I'm fine. And you?" she yelled back.

"Fine!" she heard and something else she couldn't quite understand through all the stone. It was something about climbing and stability.

"Don't climb!" she yelled, because in her opinion it was everything but stable.

"What?"

"Don't climb, it's not stable!" she yelled again.. Apart from that, it was high. "I'll look for another way around!"

"What? Maybe there's another way!" she heard from the other side.

Yeah, fine. He probably haven't understood her, but he was going to do the same thing. She went back the way they came from and as soon as she left the small corridor and reached the quay again, she headed to the right. There weren't that much large rocks, so maybe there was a way around. She hadn't come far as she spotted to figures who were hastening across the field of stones. Mira ducked behind some rocks and observed them. They looked human, but they weren't. It was a man and a woman. She was blond and dressed in a light-pink coat with a ridiculous long white scarf. The man had a similar coat in brown, masses of brown, curly hair and an equally long scarf. His was striped in red, yellow, brown and green shades. What were they doing here? Suddenly, something exploded repeatedly left and right of that weird couple and they started to run towards one of the ruins. Was someone shooting at hem? But who?

A few minutes after they had vanished into the ruin, the explosions stopped and the woman came running out of the ruin again – alone. Mira looked around once more, but there was no sign of the Doctor. Well, one of them would find a way around the blockage, sooner or later. But where was the man? What was he doing in that building? And the woman seemed to be in a hurry and oddly distressed. Mira decided to have a look for herself, and as soon as the woman in pink was out of sight, she approached the ruined building. As she came closer, she got more carefully, listening for steps or any other signs that someone was coming. Even though the two didn't seem to be hostile, one could never be too careful. Above all, she had only seen them from a distance. Close enough to tell they weren't human, but that was basically it. Yet, the man seemed strangely familiar, even though she was certain she had never seen his face before.

Suddenly, she heard the man inside laughing, followed by, "He got it wrong on the first line! Ts. Why didn't he ask someone who saw it happen?"

 _What the hell?_

Fine, he was obviously talking to himself. But about what? She got closer and pressed herself against the wall close to the entrance, still carefully listening, not only with her ears. Suddenly, something was bleeping. "Must remember to give Romana hers," he said.

Was that the name of the woman dressed in pink?

"The conditions existing on the planet Magla make it incapable of supporting any life form."

That almost sounded like he was reading from a book. But why? Why were they hopping around on that planet as if they were making holidays, dressed like... Well. Tourists? People from Earth? Dressed in matching clothes? People who went for a walk on a Sunday afternoon? Then she looked down at herself. She wasn't dressed any different.

Suddenly he laughed again, but this time it was somehow weary and disrespectful.

"He obviously doesn't realise the planet Magla is an eight-thousand mile wide amoeba that's grown a crusty shell," he said and then, quietly, "He does know."

She tried it again, but she still couldn't get any emotions from him, even though she was definitely close enough. Weird. Almost as it was with the Doctor. Must be this dammed universe, she thought.

Then her curiosity got the better of her. She peered around the corner and into the room. After her eyes had adjusted to the dim light, she saw the man lying on the floor, buried by a massive stone column. Strangely enough, he seemed to be quite comfortable, lying on his back, reading a book.

"You know it's not very polite to linger in the doorway?" he suddenly said without taking his eyes from the book. "Say, have you ever been on Magla?"

"Uhm.. No?" she replied, slightly stunned.

"That's a shame. Are you by any chance from Menxia VI?"

"No," she said and eyed him carefully. Where the hell was he from?

"Well, that's a shame again. If so, you could have easily lifted that column. But then, you don't have green fur, hm? But they could have lost it by now. Haven't been there for quite a while."

 _Oh my god._

Suddenly it hit her. Now she saw it. She had seen it all the time, but she had refused to believe it. No. She hadn't even thought about it. The Doctor had always said he was the last. So she hadn't thought that maybe there were others like him. They had been walking around right in front of her eyes, and she hadn't realised it. So there _were_ others. There was no way she could be wrong. It was just as with the Doctor. The same weird aura surrounding him, the way she felt his presence and yet didn't feel it at the same time, nor any of his emotion _s_.

 _No way._

And yet, here he was. Question was, why hadn't the Doctor felt it? He had said his whole people were linked to each other. And even if not, at least here on this planet he should have gotten it.

"No, no green fur," she said slowly and finally approached him. He still seemed somehow familiar, but probably just because he was from Gallifrey as well. There was something wrong, seriously wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it now. She took a closer look at him. He _looked_ a bit older than the Doctor, but suddenly she was sure that he actually was younger. A lot younger. "Are you injured?" she asked eventually.

"No, I'm fine. Just can't lift that rock, obviously. Oh, and I'm the Doctor. Who are you?"

"What?!"

She felt like he had slapped her right in the face. The Doctor? Great. Were they all called the same?

"Oh, alright. Strange name, but then again... Heard weirder names before."

"You're kidding me, aren't you?"

"What? Why? You said your name's wha-"

"No! My name's not what! Dammit!"

"Fine, no need for swearing, hm? Why would I be kidding?" He said and looked at her all innocent out of big, blue eyes.

"I- Because-"

 _Shut it._

She bit her tongue. Sometimes, if one didn't know what was going on, it was best to keep one's mouth shut. Why the hell was he here? Did he survive the war? Did he even know what had happened? As familiar as he seemed to be, there was something essentially different about him. But what?

"I don't know. Maybe you like it? Anyway. My name's Mira. So, I-" She was about to ask if Romana had gone to look for help, but suddenly she felt a presence behind her. "There's someone behind me?" she whispered.

He nodded and put the book away. Slowly she turned around and faced three white-dressed, humanoid individuals. They had tanned skin and their silver hair was braided into countless little braids, framing their aristocratic faces. Involuntarily they reminded her a bit of Egyptian Pharaohs in old movies. Well, the weapons they were aiming at her not so much.

"Good evening," the man who stated to be the Doctor said, seemingly unimpressed. "You'll forgive me if I don't rise. It's..." he continued and chuckled.

 _And there I thought it couldn't get any worse._

So much for having a peaceful walk on some lovely planet.

 **...**

Not much later they were in some sort of space ship. The people – three of them – had lifted the column seemingly effortless. The room they were now in appeared to be some sort of control centre. It had a clean, white look, some control panels were along the walls and a lounge was in the middle of the room. It reminded her a bit of the control rooms of the Empire ships, centuries ago. She watched how the strange man – _Timelord_ \- tried to fiddle with some of the consoles, but stopped as soon as he earned a deadly glance from one of the crew members. She was still more or less openly staring at him. She was certain she had never met him before – how could she – but still, he reminded her of someone. There was something in his movements, the way he was glancing around, that seemed awkwardly familiar. Before she could think about that any more, she spotted some of the weapons the strangers were carrying hanging on the wall. As she was still thinking, she heard a quiet whisper next to her ear, "Don't."

She turned her head and looked directly into the face of the man who called himself the Doctor. Well, he had leaned down to her, for he was over six foot tall. Maybe _Doctor_ was indeed some sort of title, not a name _her_ Doctor was carrying?

"Don't worry, I won't do something stupid," she said.

He walked away again, and as though nothing had happened he said, "I must say how grateful I am to you charming people." But no one reacted, they all continued with their tasks. "I repeat how grateful I am to you charming people," he repeated himself, a little louder this time, still strolling across the room. "You lifted that column off me as though it were a matchstick. I can't think for the life of me where you keep your muscles. "

"It is an essential qualification that all crew members are in peak condition." one of the crew eventually said. It must be the commanding officer.

"Oh, I see, yes. Part of their training, is it? Well, excuse me. Well, I told you a little bit about myself. What about you? What's this planet called, by the way?" the Doctor asked.

"You don't know?" the officer replied.

"No, I had a little trouble with my direction equipment."

"A total lack of navigation, as for me," Mira couldn't resist to say. Randomiser. Seriously? Landing somewhere, some time, just like that? Should be prohibited.

"How so?" the Doctor asked her.

"Never mind..."

"You made a forced landing?" the officer wanted to know.

"Well, yes, something of the sort," the Doctor said.

"Not a world one would visit from choice," the officer replied.

"No," Mira and the Doctor said almost at once.

"The planet is listed in our star catalogue as D5 Gamma Z Alpha"

"Well, that's not much help. See, I'm terribly old-fashioned, I prefer names," the Doctor said.

"I believe the planet is called Skaro."

"Skaro? Good god!"

Her head flung around to the Doctor as she heard the tone in his voice. He seemed genuinely shocked. Skaro? She had never heard of it before.

"You know it?" the officer asked.

"What are you doing here?" the Doctor asked instead of answering.

"The nature of our mission is secret. You'll understand, I'm sure."

"No, I don't understand. Why are you here on Skaro?" the Doctor insisted.

"What's it with Skaro?" Mira asked, but the Doctor just stared at her.

* * *

 _Sorry that there wasn't an update for so long. I planned to have this chapter done last weekend, with the removal done (at least half of it, safely arrived in Scotland over a week ago) but there was just so much to do here. So sorry for that, and I'll try to update more regularly from now on._

 _I've decided to do a classic episode with the 4th Doctor and Romana (as you may have noticed by now)._

 _Xayatha, Falling Right Side-Up, bored411, 10th Squad 3rd Seat: Thanks for leaving a review :)_


	51. Chapter 51 - Destiny of the Daleks Pt 2

**Chapter LI**

 _Doctor's POV_

He was still wondering why this place seemed so awkwardly familiar. But he just couldn't figure it out. Maybe he had been here before, maybe not. There was nothing special about this place, so maybe he was wrong. But he was never wrong. Well, almost never. Hardly ever. Just sometimes. But it wasn't really important now, was it? He had to find a way around these rocks somehow. It was only good that these Anti-Radiation-Pills lasted longer than the ones he had had when he had been here with Romana, ages ago.

Then it finally dawned on him. Romana. Anti-Radiation-Pills. Skaro.

"Wait. What?!"

He looked around him once more. That's it. Now he realised it. How didn't he notice that before? He knew it, all the time, he just hadn't realised it. Just hadn´t drawn the right connections. But why? Maybe because the mere thought of being here again was too absurd. Why would the TARDIS bring him here, of all places?

But he had no time to think about that now, he had to find Mira and leave, as soon as possible. No way he - or Mira - could meet his former self or Romana.

 _Romana._

He really had enjoyed her company, very much actually. It had been the only time he had traveled with one of his own people. But now she was gone, like all the others. Dead and gone. Because of him.

He shook his head in an attempt to get rid of these thoughts. There were more important things at hand. He continued following the small path until it widened to an open field. In some distance he could see the ruins of some buildings. It was also the way back to the TARDIS. For he hadn't seen Mira by now, she had either gone back to the TARDIS or maybe was exploring these ruins. As far as he knew her by now, most likely the latter.

So he basically hat two options. He could look for her inside the destroyed buildings, but this were also the buildings were he had gotten buried by that column and were Romana went to look for him. If Mira had went inside, she had met him already. Or he could go back to the TARDIS, even though he doubted to find her there.

As he was considering what to do next, he heard steps from inside. Was it her? It could also be Romana, she had come back to help him. Well, Romana didn't know his current regeneration, so maybe taking a look wouldn't hurt.

"Who's there?" he suddenly heard a voice from inside.

 _Too late._

She had heard him.

"Oh, just me!" he said and entered the building. Romana was in the back of the room, next to a shaft. She spun around and looked at him, and for a moment he could do nothing but stare. He hadn't expected that it would bring back so many old memories. Old, and in the shadow of the recent events even more painful. For a second he wished she would recognise him, that he could just talk to her for a moment, just like back in the old days.

"Who are you?" She asked and took a few steps backward. She was afraid, he could see that, and he knew what was going to happen next. Just the first time it hadn't been because of him. But-

And there he was. He heard steps behind him, but even without turning around he knew who it was. A man named Tyssan, Deep Space Fleet of planet Earth. He would try to rescue Romana, but she had been so frightened that she tried to run away and fell into that shaft. She had never told him how scared she had been, but he had always known it.

"I? Oh, I'm Mr Smith. Careful, there's a shaft-"

"Stay back, both of you!" she yelled and took another step backwards.

"Romana, don't-"

"How do you know my name?" she asked, merely one step away from the shaft now. She was supposed to fall down there, he knew it. Supposed to fall down there, survive, get captured by the Daleks and then escape.

The next moment, before he himself knew what he was doing, he was at her side and tried to hold her back, just when was about to take that one last step backwards. She struggled to free herself, completely unaware of the fact that she was about to fall. Then she finally lost her balance and, with him standing so close to the edge, she dragged him down with her. The fall didn't last long, then the whole world went black.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

"What's it with Skaro?" Mira tried it again, but the Doctor had already turned his attention back to the Commander.

"Commander, you must tell me what you're doing here on Skaro. It's vital," he urged the Commander to answer him.

"Why? What do you know of Skaro?"

"Well, I'll tell you when you tell me what you're doing here," the Doctor replied.

Mira was about to roll her eyes – this could take a while – but then the Commander suddenly gave in.

"Very well. I don't see why this should compromise us. Our mission is directed against the force known as the Daleks. A race of evil-"

"Yes, thank you, thank you, I know," the Doctor interrupted him.

"You know the Daleks?"

"Oh! Better than you could possibly imagine," the Doctor replied and then stared silently into space.

She observed him from the side. She had still no idea if this man had survived the Time War of if he was from a time before it. But if he was from before the Time War, why had the Doctor never went back and prevented it with his knowledge? Sure, it was dangerous, more than that, but yet - she herself wasn't sure if she would be able to resist the temptation to save her own people by going back in time, if she could. Or save at least some of them. These two maybe. Suddenly she became aware of the responsibility not only the Doctor was holding, but also she herself. Should she warn this other Doctor? Would it even be possible to warn him, or would time just find a way to let happen what was supposed to happen?

"Commander, the Daleks-" he finally continued and pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"I'm very familiar with their methods. It's vital I know what they're doing here."

"That's precisely what I would like to know, too."

"But, Commander, what-" the Doctor said, but they got interrupted by a member of the crew.

By now she doubted that they would ever find out what exactly those people were doing here. Directed against the Daleks. But why? Had they been attacked as well? But they couldn't stand a chance, if they weren't mightier than the Time Lords.

"The patrol has found a prisoner."

"Yes. Bring him at once," the Commander said and a man in ragged clothes was brought in. He was in no good condition, that was plain to see, even though he tried to hide it.

"Starship engineer Tyssan," he introduced himself. "Serving with the Deep Space Fleet out of the planet Earth. By my time scale I've been taken captive two years ago and since then I've been a prisoner of the Daleks." He hardly managed to finish his speech before he collapsed. Two members of the crew caught him and placed him on the big lounge-sofa in the middle of the control room. The Doctor bent over him.

"Tyssan. Tyssan, what are the Daleks mining for? Mmm?"

There it was again. The way he was talking, the phrases he was using, the way he was looking at the other man – for a moment his face and shape seemed to blur and she felt stronger than ever that she knew him from somewhere. But then the moment was gone, and she tried again to focus on the situation at hand.

"Tyssan. Tyssan, what are the Daleks mining for? Come on," the man who called himself Doctor continued.

"They don't take prisoners into their confidence," Tyssan whispered weakly.

"You were on a work party. You fell unconscious," the man who had brought Tyssan in the control room said.

"I was left for dead. I've been on the run for days," he replied.

"Yes," the Doctor said, inviting him to talk.

"I spotted you and the girl."

"Good man, good man, yes. Why didn't you speak to me?"

"I lost you for a while. Then I picked up the girl again. She seemed afraid. A man was with her this time. She backed away, he tried to hold her and they both fell down a shaft."

"A man?" she said, suddenly alarmed. "Tall, skinny, brown hair, pinstripe suite?"

"Yes, do you know him?"

"God dammit. What happened to them?" she said instead of really answering his question.

"Were they hurt?" the Doctor asked now.

"They were alive," Tyssan replied.

"Good, good," she heart the Doctor say, but she knew that Tyssan was about to say something bad.

"But the Daleks got them," Tyssan said and proved her right.

"What?" the Doctor gasped.

"Shit. Where are they now?" she asked.

"I went to help them. They took them away," Tyssan said.

"Yeah. But where? Ty-" she started to say.

"Tyssan, it's vital I get into Dalek control. Can you show me a way?" the Doctor interrupted her.

"You'd be taking a tremendous risk."

"Never mind. Can you do it?"

"I think so."

"Good."

"Great. Then we're going to Dalek Control Centre," she said and was about to get up, as the Commander joined them.

"I quite agree, Doctor, Mira. We'll go with you. Agella, get some weapons. Give us a few moments."

"Hurry!" the Doctor said to them.

"A bomb would be good," she added, "For we're going to go to their control centre." The Commander didn't answer and she also missed the look the Doctor gave her as she was staring into space. She would indeed place a bomb there, if she would get the chance. After what they had done on Earth, she wouldn't think twice about it.

And there was another thing she wouldn't think twice about. If her Doctor would ever do that - using this dammed randomiser - again, he'd be for the high jump. Caught by the Daleks, maybe injured. Great. Just great.

"You're quite a long way from home, hmm?"

She turned her head to the Doctor and directly met his bright, blue eyes. She hadn't been aware that he was staring at her.

"Why?" she said slightly irritated. How did he mean that?

"Well, Earth is quite some way from here. You're from Earth, aren't you? What're you and your friend doing here?"

"Doing? Nothing. Nothing in particular. We're just travelling. Sort of..."

"Ah, travelling companions then? Just like me and my friend. There's nothing like travelling, hm? As long as you're not alone, at least."

"Frankly? Right now I would prefer home above anything else," she instantly said quietly before she could stop herself. True enough, she really missed home. But wishing for something that she couldn't have didn't help anything right now.

"Homesick?"

"Nah," she said and looked away when she felt hot tears in her eyes.

 _Not now._

"We're ready. Let's go," the Commander appeared and spared her any further explanations.

 **...**

Not much later they had reached the mining shaft were Romana and the Doctor had fallen down.

"Come on!" Tyssan whispered, but she was already jumping down the shaft which was about nine feet high.

"Go back now. No more chances," the Doctor told Tyssan, but he seemed determined to follow.

"No, I'll stay. I've nothing to lose. Ever since I was brought here I've had an awful premonition I'd die on Skaro," he said.

"Well, you wouldn't be the first," the Doctor replied, seemingly accepting that Tyssan would stay with him.

"But why should the Daleks come here, Doctor? What is the connection?" the Commander asked.

Mira turned around, where he was standing next to the two crew members who accompanied him. One of them was a woman called Agella.

"The connection?" the Doctor said, "This is where they were created thousands of years ago. They ravaged the place and left it for dead, as you can see."

"So that's their homeworld?" Mira asked him.

Cult of _Skaro_. That was how the Doctor had called the Daleks who had come with the Void Ship.

"Yeah. What do you know about the Daleks?" the Doctor replied.

"I? Nothing. Why do you think I now anything about the Daleks?" she asked. "More interesting, what do _you_ know about the Daleks?" She had to find out somehow if it was before or after the Time War. Before she accidentally said something wrong.

"That doesn't tell me why they should return," the Commander said before the Doctor had a chance to answer her question.

"No. No, indeed. Burrowing into the ruins of their own city, for what? For what? Oh!"

"What?" she asked.

"You have an idea?" the Commander fell in.

"No. No. It would be too fantastic, even for the Daleks. We'll find the answers we want in the control room. Come on," the Doctor said and went on.

They had no choice but to follow him.

"You know, it would be easier if you'd just share your thoughts. No matter how abstruse and fantastic they are," she said to the Doctor after they were walking for a few minutes.

"And you could just use your little brain," he replied. "Think!"

"Really? You know what, I know someone you would get along with just great!", she said. "Don´t know what they want here. Maybe here´s something they want?"

"The main control centre, about five-hundred metres up there," Tyssan said interrupted them and pointed upwards.

"Good," the Doctor said.

"The place will be crawling with Daleks," Tyssan expressed his concerns.

"Don't worry," the Doctor said and then turned around to where they came from.

She noticed it as well now, the Commander and his people had stayed behind. The Doctor went back the few steps, leaned nonchalantly into their group and said, "Are you three coming?"

The Commander and Agella were following, the man stayed behind, apparently to guard the corridor.

 **...**

Little time later they finally reached the control room. At least it seemed to be the control room, it was full with electronic stuff and consoles.

"Agella, cover this entrance," the Commander said to the woman.

"Tyssan, Mira," the Doctor said and waved at them.

She went to him, Tyssan at her side.

"Explosives and timers, and powerful too. They use them in excavations," Tyssan explained.

As she was still studying the things the Doctor had just found, he was up again and pointing at something.

"That looks interesting. Aha. Floor plans of the old Kaled city," he said.

"Kaled? Really? Dalek is an anagram of the name of their city? It is their city, isn't it?" she asked.

"Ah, never mind about that. This is the first underground level where we are now. That's the second. And if I'm right, the Daleks have penetrated to level... there." He pointed at a red-circled area on the map. "Which means that their objective must be the third section."

"Yes, but what is it?" the Commander, who had joined them, asked.

"I have an uneasy feeling I know," the Doctor said and walked away from the plan. "Now... that's odd. There's no plan of the fourth level."

"Perhaps it's been destroyed," Tyssan suggested.

"Yes, yes," the Doctor said, but she could here he was just saying something, whilst thinking about something else. "There's a shaft leading directly from the surface to the fourth level which the Daleks can't possibly know about. Otherwise they would have come from the surface to the fourth level and burrowed to the third. I wonder..."

"Daleks!" Agella yelled and came running into the control centre.

"Stay calm," the Doctor said as he hurried to the door, to have a look for himself. "Quick! take cover!"

She and the others did as he told, even though they really didn't need someone to tell them. Only second later the first Daleks appeared. Incredibly blind Daleks, they just rolled pass them.

"Come on!" the Doctor said and waved at them.

The Daleks finally noticed them as they were out of the control room, and an alarm sounded.

"INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS!"

She heard the Daleks firing as she was hurrying to follow the others. As they reached the point were the guard had stayed behind, he was gone. Literally so, as she looked down to the floor, she could see his corpse. Although – something about it was strange, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Let me see!" the Doctor said and tried to reach the corpse.

"No!" the Commander said and almost jumped in the Doctor's way in an attempt to stop him.

"I'm a doctor."

"He's dead."

"He is?"

She could hear the doubt in his voice. He seemed to have noticed it as well. Something was odd.

"We cannot allow aliens to see us in death. it is against- it is against our code of honour. I'm sure you understand," the Commander explained.

"Yes. yes, of course. It's a privilege to meet such honourable people. Lets keep moving," the Doctor suddenly gave in and they went on.

"What's all that about?" Tyssan asked.

"I don't know. It'd be fascinating-" the Doctor said, but got interrupted by the sound of approaching Daleks.

"Quick, hurry up the shaft," the Commander said.

They all hurried to the shaft as Tyssan asked them, "What about your friends?"

"We have to get away from the Daleks first. We're of no use when we're dead or captured," she said.

"Good plan," the Doctor said approvingly. "Never just give up, hmm?" he added, and then said to the Commander, "After you."

"No, doctor, after you," she heard the Commander say, as she was about to climb up.

"You're too kind."

"Oh bloody hell, get up! Both of you!" she finally told them.

"No reason for swearing," the Doctor said, and then, lying in the shaft, looking down at the Daleks, "If you're supposed to be the superior race of the universe, why don't you try climbing after us? Bye bye!"

Finally they were outside again. Only to discover two piles of stones, that looked suspiciously like graves to her. And indeed – there were two gravestones with names on them.

'Romana'

'Doctor'

"Oh my God," she whispered. That couldn't be true. It just couldn't.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

The Doctor and Romana approached the little group that had gathered around their graves. He eyed his former self closer. Had he really been _that_ tall? Obviously. It had never felt that tall.

Right at this moment, is former self turned around and spotted them.

"Romana!" he said and laughed.

Well, he himself remembered that moment. The relief he had felt when he saw Romana again.

"I thought you were dead!" his former self continued.

Well, at least right now everything was going as he was remembering it, just like he had managed to keep the timelines as they were supposed to be down with the Daleks. But it didn't had to stay that way, he knew that. Him being here could change everything. It was high time for him and Mira to leave.

Now Mira spun around as well, just as Romana explained, "Well, the only way to escape the Daleks was to feign our death. I'm lucky they didn't know we were Gallifreyan."

"Good," his old self said, but he missed the rest of the little conversation, because Mira first punched his arm, said, "Never do that again!" and then gave him a bone crushing hug. He returned the hug and whispered in her ear, "We have to leave. Now."

"Oh? So now _you_ want to leave? Why?" she freed herself from his arms and looked at him.

"Later. Just come. We have to go."

"We can't just leave. Not yet! You know there're Daleks here, don't you? And besides..." she nodded over to his former self and Romana.

Certainly, she had noticed it, he thought. They were Time Lords, just like him. Or a Time Lady, as for Romana.

"So, you're her travel companion?" his former self suddenly said to him. He turned his head and faced himself. It wasn't the first time he had been in that situation, but it was weird, every single time.

"Say, do we know each other?" his former self continued.

"Uhm.. No? I don't think so." he said and ran his hand through his hair. "Listen, it was nice meeting you, and nice meeting your companion, Romana, but we have to go. Mira, come on," he said and grabbed her hand, but she pulled it away. Oh well, he had seen it coming. Nothing could ever be easy, could it?

"Do we?" she asked and looked at him provocatively, before she turned to the rest of the group. "Excuse us for a moment."

Then she walked away and he had no other choice but to follow her.

"Hurry, would you?" he heard his former self calling after them, then he reached Mira who was standing behind a half demolished stone wall.

"What's this all about?" she asked. "We're at a time before the Time War, aren't we? Because those two definitely are Gallifreyan."

"What did you tell him?"

"What?"

"Mira, it's important. What did you tell him?"

"Whom? The man who says he's the Doctor?" she looked at him even more provocatively then before, her arms crossed.

"Did he say that? Really?" he replied and scratched his neck. Did she know? "Anyway, did you tell him anything about the Time War? About me?"

"No, dammit. I didn't tell him anything. Who is he? Your brother or something like that? Because frankly, he's a bit like you in some ways."

"Mira, please, we have to leave," he tried it once more.

"Not before you give me some answers. Who is he?"

He looked at her. He couldn't get away that easy, not with her. And it wasn't even about telling her that this man was him, but more about what she would do once she realised that this was his former self before the Time War.

He peered around, but no one was near to overhear their conversation. "Well, thing is..." he pulled at his ear lob, "Well... That man- See, there's this process, that thing that happens when we're about to die, because- Well..."

"Please, would you get to the point?"

Well, he knew that this would happen sooner or later. He had to explain it to her. It was just that he remembered all too well how Rose had reacted. But maybe it would be different with Mira. Hopefully. He just didn´t want her to freak out. Even more so, he wanted to be accepted for who and what he was, een if that meant he changed his face from time to time.

"Fine. See... He's- He's me. That's me. My past self. About four-hundred years ago. Or so." Actually, he had been around four-hundred and fifty years at that time.

She just looked at him, then blinked. Once, twice, before finally saying, "Seriously? That's you?" Then she turned to the direction where the others were standing and slowly shook her head before she continued, "How? I mean, you have to admit that's a bit beyond plastic surgery. He- _you_ doesn't even remotely look like you."

"It's not plastic surgery."

"So how-" She suddenly stopped and he could see how her eyes widened as she stared at him. "Oh my God."

"What?"

"You transplant your brains?"

"What!?" now it was on him to stare at her. He had expected a lot of things, but not that. "What if?"

"Uhm... Depends, I guess," she replied cautiously.

"On what?"

"Where the bodies come from."

"We're not transplanting our brains. Even though some tried it, but- Anyway. As said, there's this process, that happens when we're injured and about to die. It's called regeneration. We change, our bodies get healed, but they change in the process. Completely, as you see."

"So... He- He's really you? But- then you've met me before. You know that you'll end up here one day, meeting yourself. Don't you?"

"No. It hasn't happened, it _is_ just about to happen right now. I couldn't possibly know it. Now I will remember it, but not before it happens. It´s just a bit timey-"

"Shut it." She looked at him, and confusion was written all over her face. "Okey, fine. I guess I have to accept that for now, otherwise I'll get a knot in my brain. Just don´t do that Timey-Whimey-thing. But how often did you change your- your face? Your body? Is it just your body that changes? Or also your brain and your mind? And what happens to your memories, do they-"

"Mira, please, not now. I'll tell you everything later, I promise, but we really have to leave. Meeting myself shouldn't happen, and I can only guess what dangers will come out of this."

"Oh come on! It's not the first time we meet ourselves, is it? Hmm? And it was always for a reason," he suddenly heard his former self say. He looked around and saw him approaching. "But I'd never have expected to end up being that skinny. But nice hair, I have to admit that. Bit more curls would've been good, but well. Just the clothes are a bit boring," his old self continued.

"Oi! My hair is fine as it is! Same goes for my clothes," he said indignantly and looked at the other man with the ridiculous long scarf..

"Oi? What's that, 'Oi'? Why would I say that? Which of my regenerations are you anyway?"

"Yes, I, and therefore you, say 'Oi' now. As often as I want to. And what's it to you which regeneration I am? Just wait and see! Spoilers, you know?"

"Stop it! Both of you! Now!" Mira yelled at them and his head flung around to her, as did his former self's head. "Could you keep your talking-to-yourself down a bit? Some may call this the first sign of madness," she continued. "Anyway. You," she pointed at both of them, "just said it's for a reason when you meet yourself. Meet your former or future self or whatever. So we stay. End of topic."

"So, we've just met your future self?" Romana said as she joined them before he could reply anything. She had addressed his former self, turned to him now and continued with a lob sided grin, "As if one version of you wouldn't be enough. But I knew that there's something familiar about you."

"Doctor?" he heard the Commander say, who had joined them as well by now.

"Yes?" he said together with his former self.

"What are you doing now?"

"Dalek hunting," they said together once more. Oh goodness, that really had to stop. But was it his fault that he knew what he had said back then?

He turned around, almost collided with himself and then they walked straight ahead, the others following them.

"Now, if I'm right, there's a shaft in here the Daleks don't know about. leading straight to the bottom level, if I'm right," his former self said.

"Oh, I am right," he confirmed.

* * *

 _10th Squad 3rd Seat, Bored411, oXxgeorgiaxXo: Thanks for reviewing :)_


	52. Chapter 52 - Destiny of the Daleks Pt 3

**Chapter LII**

 _Mira's POV_

She was walking next to Romana, behind the Doctor and- the Doctor. Behind _him_. Both had shoved their hands in the pockets of their trousers/jacket. As if it wouldn't been weird and awkward enough to meet another version of him – the same him, just from another time – no, he had to be a different man. Not that he hadn't made insinuations of him having been another man in the past. But dammit, who could have guest that he had meant it so literally? Why hadn't he told her earlier? Not that he had any obligation to do so, but still, he could have told her. Was it some sort of taboo in his society? Or was his decision to not tell her based on some bad experience in the past? Hopefully he would stick to his promise to answer her questions later. How much of _him_ – his memories, his personality - remained when he changed like that? This other Doctor was different, even though she could still see _him_ , the one she knew, in his former self. At least now that she knew. If she was honest to herself, she wouldn't have guessed that he was him, even though he seemed strangely familiar. Maybe if she had concentrated more on him, on his mind, it would have become clearer, but she hadn't done that.

At least now she knew what set his former self apart from the Doctor she knew. It was him before the Time War, before he had lost everyone and everything. He was lacking the aura of darkness and sadness that she had come to notice over time that surrounded his future self.

And she had been right with another thing. The one with the scarf was actually younger. A lot younger. About half his age.

"Ah-ha! I'm right!" she heard the younger Doctor say. They were back in the building now and she realised that all were searching for that shaft – all but her. She just couldn't explain why she was so beside herself. Fine, it had been a bit much, meeting his past self and everything, but no reason for her to be that confused.

"Now, if the Daleks are looking for what I think they're looking for, we've got to get there first," he continued and looked around, before his eyes fell on the Commander and Agella. "We don't all need to go. Why don't you two go back to your ship and wait for us?"

The Commander seemed to consider for a moment what to answer. It was a weird people, Mira thought. They seemed to be alive, but they were seriously lacking emotions.

"No, Doctor," he finally said. "I will go back to the ship. Agella will go with you. We're as anxious to find what the Daleks are looking for as you are."

"All right. Come on then," the younger Doctor said.

She looked at her Doctor. He was standing in the background, his arms crossed and seemingly not too happy with the whole situation. Well, he certainly had had a hand in it, so now he had to deal with it; just like she.

The corridor they were walking down now was much darker than the other one they had been in before. It was more demolished and there were broken pipes and hoses covering the wall.

After a while Tyssan asked the younger Doctor, "How do you know how to get into this level?"

"Call it local knowledge gained a long time ago," he replied, and then turned to Romana, "You gave me quite a start back there, you know."

"You tell me," Mira said as she remembered the sight of the gravestone.

"Who would have guessed that I'll use the same trick, hmm?" the younger Doctor said and grinned at her like a little boy, obviously quite impressed with his future self.

"Not funny," was all she could manage to say. "Not even remotely funny."

"So, where do we meet then? And how?" he asked her, but before she could say anything she caught a warning glance of the other Doctor.

"Better ask yourself," she said, and just then she heard a whirring sound.

"They started drilling again," the younger Doctor said, "Now, listen, we don't have much time. And if I'm right, we should go this way." He pointed straight ahead.

"What is it we're looking for?" she asked. He could really tell them by now.

"Same thing as the Daleks," the younger Doctor replied.

"And hat would that be?" she asked, slowly but surely running out of patience.

"I'll tell you when I find out," he said.

"Great. Do that," she replied with a sigh of annoyance and then turned to her Doctor. "What are we looking for?"

"Sorry, I can't tell you," he said, all serious.

"What!?" she asked and stared at him whilst trying to figure out what to say next. A few colourful curses were on top of her list, but then she decided against saying anything at all. What for? He was obviously not willing or able to tell her, neither him nor his younger self. She just shook her head, turned around and followed Romana and the younger Doctor.

Not much later they reached an area that was covered in cobwebs and dust. It looked like no one had been here for centuries. They entered a chamber, the younger Doctor first.

"Just as I thought," he said as they all could see what was in there – or better: Who. It looked like a Dalek, cut in half. Or like some very special sort of wheelchair that looked like the lower half of a Dalek. A man was sitting inside it - at least she assumed he was sitting, for she couldn't see his legs. If he still had them, they were completely covered by the lower part of the chair. He looked incredibly old and almost mummified. Was he dead? Certainly. His eyes were closed, and yet they seemed hollow, as if he was blind. Between his eyes on his forehead was a bulb that probably once had been illuminated, but now it was as dead and blind as the whole creature.

 _Creature_.

It – he – looked humanoid, but there was nothing human about him. Not anymore, she thought, and shivered.

"Who is he?" she asked quietly. "Are the Daleks searching for him?"

"Yes. Davros, the evil genius who created the Daleks," the younger Doctor replied, equally quiet. There was a certain tone to his voice, and suddenly she realised she knew nothing about the Time War, nothing what had happened before it, why the Daleks had attacked.

"He created the Daleks?" Agella asked.

"Yes. I could have stopped him," the younger Doctor said.

Suddenly, she felt as if the temperature in the room had dropped by a few degrees as she caught a look from her Doctor. Was he thinking the same as she did right now? Wasn't it tempting for him to try and change history? The history of his own people?

"This creature looks as though he's been dead for centuries," she heard Tyssan say.

"Yes. Curious the tricks time plays on one, isn't it?" the younger Doctor murmured, his eyes still fixed on Davros.

She looked from her Doctor to his younger self and back again. It couldn't go on like this, the whole situation was making her almost feel physically sick. It was surreal, never meant to happen and just _wrong_. She couldn't even explain what made it so wrong, because normally she said everything that happens was meant to happen. But now she could clearly feel how wrong it was.

She walked over to her Doctor, who was standing a few feet away, and whispered, "A word."

Then she turned around and walked a few yards back where they had just came from, hearing his footsteps behind her.

When she thought they were out of earshot she turned around. She was about to tell him her thoughts about this whole situation, but then something else crossed her mind.

"Why did you ask me about what I've told you in the spaceship? I mean, it was your past self I've told that. And even if it is just happening for you, you should know it, shouldn't you? This part had already happened then."

"It's- Well, it's complicated. Time isn't a straight progression of events, as you humans might-"

"Skip it. Just tell me why. Bad long-term memory? Or is there some law of physics regarding paradoxes?"

"Uhm..." he started and stared at her for a moment. "Well. Yes, it's a paradox. And no, no laws of physics, but Laws of Time. See, it's all in flux right now. This isn't supposed to happen-"

"But it is happening," she said, her voice softer now, "So how can you say it's not supposed to?" She wanted to reassure herself. She wanted him to assure her that it was all happening as it was supposed to. She didn't know if she could bear another part of her world being shattered. She needed something she could hold on, something to believe in, now that everything else was gone. But he didn't do her that favour.

"Because it shouldn't. It's wrong. And I will remember when the timelines are no longer in flux, but not now."

"Hm," she said, "Well, don't worry. I just suggested to blow up the Dalek control room when we go there anyway. But that's not what I wanted to talk about. Davros. You said, you could have stopped him. Why didn't you? Maybe now-"

"Shh," he said, "I can hear us."

"What?" she said and looked past him to the entrance of the chamber. She had kept her voice down, so no one - at least no human – inside that chamber would be able to hear her. "How good are your ears?"

"Good enough to hear your heartbeat now."

"What? Dammit!" she said and instinctively took a small step back. It wasn't even that quiet here. And he could still hear it?

But she had to talk to him. Now. Maybe they _were_ here for a reason. Maybe not. She didn't think he could prevent the whole Time War from happening, but maybe he could at least save Romana. Or someone else. At least she had to hear his opinion on the situation. They could go farther back into the corridor, but on the other hand, they most likely didn't have that much time.

There was one more possibility. It had worked once. Unintentionally, but it had worked nevertheless. At least one-way.

Without any further warning, she took his hands and concentrated.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

She took him completely by surprise as he felt her warm and slender hands in his. Not a second later a thought began to form right in front of his mind's eye. Just like back when they had fought the Krillitanes and he had heard that one, single thought from her as he was holding her hand.

 _Can he/you hear that as well?_

It was way clearer this time, because she was obviously focusing on sending it to him. Remarkably clear for a human. It was not that their minds were touching as it had happened earlier, it was mere telepathic communication now. He didn't even know if it would work both-way, so he just shook his head.

 _Can't you warn him?_

He didn't even need to feel the soft and faded hints of emotions – compassion mostly, accompanied by an echo of his own sadness - that coloured this thought of her to know what she was talking about.

 _No, I can't_

Instinctively, he was thinking and not speaking. He knew immediately that she had heard him as she winced and almost pulled her hands away from him.

"Would you mind keeping it down a bit? No need to shout," she whispered.

 _Sorry_

He had tried to think more 'quiet' this time. He had forgotten for a moment that he was communicating with a human and how much stronger his psychic abilities were compared to hers.

 _But why?_

 _I've told you. This isn't meant to happen. It's against all the Laws of Time. Altering the past could upset the stability of the universe. You must not tell me. Promise me that._

 _Can't you at least save someone? Save her? Romana?_

Now the sadness that underlined her thoughts was slowly turning to despair. It was no longer an echo of is own feelings, it was clearly coming from her. And in her eyes he could see that she realised that for herself now. He slightly tightened the grip around her hands as he felt she was about to pull them away.

 _I can't._

He wished he could. He really did, more than anything else in the universe, but at the same time he knew there was no way. Just as he knew how tempting it was. And how tempting it must be for his former self.

 _Promise me you won't tell me._

She just looked him in the eyes. He had no idea what she was thinking right now. It would be easy for him now to get into her mind and see it, but that would be way beyond inappropriate. Outright disrespectful.

 _Mira, please._

She looked at him, then he saw her eyes focusing on something behind him. He didn't need to turn around, he knew who it was.

"Sorry to disturb you by- whatever you are doing. I'll guess I'll find out in time what it is, even though I have a certain suspicion from the looks of it..." his former self said. "Anyway, we should-"

He was interrupted by the sound of an explosion and he let go of Mira's hands. Well, he had waited for this to happen. Almost instantly Tyssan and Agella were running towards the source of the sound. It wouldn't end well for Agella, at least for now. But, after all, she was only a-

"Mira, wait!" he called after her, as she was following Tyssan and Agella.

"She's buried!" Mira yelled.

Not a moment later he was at her side, together with his former self.

"I know," he said and watched how his former self touched Agella's hand. Pretty much the only part of her that stuck out of the heap of debris. "There's nothing we can do now."

"Romana, I was right," his former self said with a slight grin on his face to his companion.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mira said and looked at him, then at his former self. "She's dead, isn't she?"

Tyssan spared him an answer as he said, "Doctor, they're breaking through."

Their heads flung around, but there was another sound. Davros. He was awake.

"So, the long darkness has ended and the eternity of waiting is over. The resurrection has come, as I always knew it would. Now, where are my Daleks?" he heard Davro's annoying, Dalek-like voice.

They were all on their feet again and running towards the chamber, his former self first, causing him to collide with Davros in his chair.

"Doctor!" Davros said in surprise.

"Davros, you don't look a day older and I'd hoped you were dead," his former self replied.

"Dead? I do not die! Mark this moment, Doctor. In the history of the universe, this moment is unique. Davros lives."

"Talking about yourself in the third person isn't quite a sign of mental health," he heard Mira say right beside him.

"Yes, well," his former self turned to her with a smile, "I'd really hoped his long rest would cure his megalomania." He turned to Davros again, "Have a Jelly Baby."

Davros just slapped them out of his hand as the sound of another explosion could be heard. His former self started to push the wheelchair with Davros in it.

"Where are you taking me?" Davros demanded to know, but he didn't get an answer.

They were walking along the corridors, hearing the sound of an explosion every now and then. Suddenly his former self shushed them. They could run into Daleks any second now.

"You will release me. You will return me to the Daleks," Davros tried it again.

"Shut up or I'll switch you off," his former self said.

"Maybe-" Mira started to say, but then she caught his eyes and remained silent.

"What?" his former self asked.

Right at this moment they almost ran into some Daleks, saving her an answer. His former self turned the chair with Davros around.

"Quick, back this way!"

And back they went.

He managed to get at Mira's side and whispered into her ear, "Promise me. Please."

She sighed and then said without looking at him, "Fine."

"Fine? Really? Look at me."

She eventually turned her head and said, "Fine. I promise."

He only hoped she would stick to it; it was clear to see that she didn't like it. Hopefully he had made his point clear enough. She must be able to grasp the implications of trying to change the past in such a way. On the other hand, he was anything but certain about how a human as old as she would act in this situation. It was a wonder that all the years and the power she most likely had hold hadn't gotten to her head by now.

After a while they reached another room with a blocked door on the other end.

"Tyssan, back down the corridor and check it," his former self said, before he turned to Romana. "You, give me a hand with this. And you, for you're here."

He was obviously meaning him. Mira was standing a few feet away, looking at the debris. It was way too heavy for her, she must have seen that. Well, no harm in helping himself this time he thought and helped them to remove the debris that was blocking the door.

"It's shifting, stand back," his former self said, and not a second later, as he and Romana had gotten out of the way, everything came down, almost burying his former self.

"Well, you didn't do that very well, did you?" his former self said to him.

"I didn't do it very well?" he replied indignantly. "Most of all, it was you. And you're supposed to say that to Romana."

"Am I? And it was me, so it was you, so you didn't do very well," his former self said accusingly.

Right now, Tyssan returned. "The corridor is full of Daleks."

"What? Then we're effectively boxed in," his former self said and started to walk around, thinking. "We're too exposed here. Come on, get him. Let's get under cover."

They were all following him once more, Tyssan pushing Davros.

As they passed a demolished door, his former self said, "Get that door up. Make some sort of barrier."

Then he went to a whole in the wall. He was able to look out, he could remember that. Tyssan, Romana and Mira were trying to close the door with a large metal plate. His former self barred it with a metal bar, saying "Good, good."

"That wouldn't keep out a determined mouse," Romana said sarcastically.

Oh he really missed her. She had always spoken her mind.

"Well, it's got to serve," his former self replied, slightly annoyed now. "Now, listen to me carefully, you two," he turned to Romana and Tyssan. "I want you both to get out through... Come over here," he waved them to the whole in the wall. "Good. Now, get back to the Movellan spaceship, tell them to mobilise a force and bring it here. It's vital we get Davros out of here before the Daleks find us. Off you go now."

"We'll be as quick as we can," Romana replied.

"Don't take too many chances. Come on, quick," his former self said.

* * *

 _Bored411, 10th Squad 3rd Seat: Thanks for reviewing :)_

 _AzTec999: Thanks to you too for reading the whole story and leaving a review. I´m glad you like it :-) Maybe I´ll do some more previous and future (from the 10th Doctor´s POV) adventures, but next is definitely Martha. ;-)_


	53. Chapter 53 - Destiny of the Daleks Pt 4

**Chapter LIII**

 _Mira's POV_

Mira watched Romana and Tyssan leave.

"Maybe one of us should go with them?" she asked, but the younger Doctor only shook his head.

"They'll be fine!" he said, suddenly appearing next to her and peering out the same whole in the wall as she did.

Then he went back to Davros. She watched him - both of them actually, her Doctor was standing next to his younger self – and thought about their short telepathic conversation. She hadn't realised how much she had missed it. Even though the short, casual chats with her old friend Gucky and the other telepaths in her universe had become a habit, she would have never thought that she would actually miss it one day. There had been a time when she had rejected the thought that telepathic communication was actually better then mere words; a time when she had tried to be 'normal'. It had taken a while until she finally had been able to accept that she wasn't and would never be normal. Not normal like all the other humans. There was no need in pretending. It was just the way her brain was working. She was able of communicating in ways other humans couldn't, and yes, God dammit, it was so much _better_ than all this talking, guessing and interpreting they had to rely on. Finally, she had been able to embrace it instead of fighting it. It certainly had its downsides, even more so that she basically was an empath and got permanently influenced by other people's emotions, and 'not listening' for her was much harder than it was for a pure telepath, but she wouldn't trade it for anything.

But now was neither the place nor the time to think about it. And most of all, she probably shouldn't ask the Doctor if they could repeat that any time soon. No need to get even closer with him.

"Well, now we've a little time for ourselves, I'll fill you in on some of the events that have taken place during the centuries you've been dozing," the younger Doctor said to Davros.

"Well?" Davros invited him to continue.

She watched Davros and wondered once more what had happened to him. Had he always been like that? He was a bitter, sadistic and ruthless. And yes, the Doctor was right, megalomanic as well. But there was something else, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. She wasn't even sure if she wanted. It took all her self-control to not get overwhelmed by the hatred and madness she felt emanating from him. She had to constantly remind her that it was him and not her, and as for that not her own feelings.

"Arcturus won the Galactic Olympic Games, Betelgeuse came a close second," the younger Doctor explained, whilst he nestled with something in his hands. "The economy of Algo is in a terrible state due to irreversible inflation..."

"Doctor?" Davros interrupted him.

"What? Yes?"

"Do you believe your puny efforts can change the course of destiny?"

"Well," the younger Doctor said, turned Davros' chair around and whispered in his ear, "Let's just say I might tamper with it."

"Destiny, Doctor," Davros said unimpressed.

"What?"

"Invincible necessity."

"Oh, that, that, yes," the younger Doctor replied and continued with whatever he was doing.

"Power. My Power. My invincibility. My supreme plan to control," Davros continued, and then finished the sentence together with the younger Doctor, "The universe."

"Yes, yes. I've heard all that before. Now, do be a good chap, eh? Stay quiet," the younger Doctor said and pulled something out of his pocket that looked suspiciously like an explosive. "I've got to concentrate."

"Errors of the past will be rectified. I will add new design elements to the Daleks' circuitry. They will be armed with new weaponry. Weaponry so devastating, that all matter will succumb to its power. I will equip them with all the knowledge of the universe."

"Yes, yes, yes, we've heard all that. The Daleks can do all that for themselves."

"The Daleks need me."

"What?" Suddenly the younger Doctor jumped up so sudden that he startled her, got behind Davros and spoke in his ear again. "The Daleks left you for dead centuries ago. You've given them all you got. What do they want you for now, eh? What's so special about the Movellans that they need your help again, eh?"

With that said, he sat down again and continued with his work.

Movellans. The weird people dressed in white from that spaceship. Something was odd about them, but what?

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He had watched the conversation between his former self and Davros. He still knew word for word what had happened back then. At least everything went now as it was supposed to, more or less.

He looked at Mira who was sitting on a large piece of scrap metal and watching Davros. He hoped she would stick to her promise, even though she had given it reluctantly. But as far as he knew her by know, she would. She would never promise something she wouldn't or couldn't keep, would she? Most of all, she must be able to understand the implications of changing the past.

His glance fell on Mira and he had to think about the telepathic contact with her. It had been a long, a very long time since he last had heard another voice like that in his mind. Of course he was feeling the presence of the TARDIS there, always, but that was different. Mira had completely taken him by surprise. He would have never expected that _she_ would actually be the one taking the initiative. Well, he knew that it had merely been out of the situation, not for the telepathic contact itself.

"So, that's your plan then?" she suddenly broke the silence, addressing Davros. "Arming the Daleks, even though I wonder how you will acquire all the knowledge of the universe, enslave every living being, destroy the rest and then what?"

Not good. He had no idea what she was doing that for, but judging from the look on her face it would potentially become dangerous. Not so much to him or the timelines, but to herself. Davros could be a powerful enemy.

"What would you understand of my plans?" Davros said snottily. "You are nothing more than a slave to me."

"Oh I think I understand enough of them. Enough to know that you'll never achieve them."

"And why is that so?" Davros replied with hardly concealed contempt in his voice.

"Why? Because once you've achieved them, you're as good as dead. I think the journey is the only thing that keeps you alive, not reaching the goal."

"I do not have to listen to this!"

"Oh, angry now, are we? Hit a nerve? So, answer my question then. What will be once you've achieved your plans?"

"I will not explain myself to you," Davros said, his voice filled with scorn.

That was enough. He slightly shook his head, certain that Mira had to see it out of the corner of her eye. And indeed, she did, but she didn't react as he had hoped she would. She just looked at him for a moment with an expression of such authority on her face that he refrained from any further attempts to stop her.

"Oh, I don't think you have to," she said to Davros. "I already know. Do you want to hear it?"

He caught a surprised glance from his former self. Oh well, he could very well imagine what he was thinking right now.

As Davros remained silent, she continued, "You're afraid."

"I am Davros! I am not afraid!"

"Oh yes. Yes you are. Deep down inside, and you know it. What will be left once your Dalek army rules the universe? What will you do then? There is nothing left to hide behind then, nothing left to distract you from what you really are. Nothing that'll keep you alive. Nothing worth _living for_. That is your biggest fear."

"I will kill you!" Davros shouted in a sudden outburst of rage.

"How so? Run me over with your wheelchair?"

"I have my Daleks exterminate you!"

"That won't change a thing, Davros. And if you kill every last one in the universe, you can't escape yourself. Well, there would be one way of doing so, but-" She remained silent for a moment and looked into space, seemingly absent. "That's it," she continued. "Oh Davros, you're more broken than I'd expected. You're alone. Alone except for the Daleks. Your creation. But who would want company like that? Not even you." She looked him up and down for a moment before she continued, "How did this happen? You weren't always like this, hm?"

Davros chose to remain silent, and Mira just observed him. Suddenly the Doctor knew what she was doing. Davros didn't need to answer her, she could just read is emotions. There must be some reaction to her words, even if he wasn't showing it.

"Mira, that's enough!" he tried to intervene, but she still ignored him.

"I'm right, aren't I?" she said, stood up and took a few steps towards Davros. "After everything what destiny's done to you, you still believe in it? You hate life so much that you want to enslave and kill every living being, and yet you yourself are clinging to it with every fibre of your miserable existence?"

"What do you know of destiny? You are nothing! You-"

"Oh, a lot, trust me," she said quietly and took another step.

To his surprise, Davros seemed as if he wanted to withdraw. There wasn't much space for him in his wheelchair, and he was almost immobile, but he could swear that he was leaning back, if only a few millimetres.

"You know what? Actually, we – you and me – aren't that different," she said, her voice almost dangerously calm. "We're just at the opposite end of the same spectrum for a lot of our traits. Empathy for example. You should really try it, just for once."

"There, that should do it. Very good," his former self took the chance to end this dispute before it could escalate. Or, better said, escalate any further, if that was possible at all. "Well, aren't you going to ask me what it is? Hmm?" he asked Davros and chuckled. "All right, I'll tell you anyway. Life insurance. " He walked through the room and then turned to Davros once more. "What were we talking about?"

"Your inevitable destruction," Davros announced.

Maybe he was imagining it, but Davros seemed to be relieved that the conversation with Mira was over. She was sitting again on the piece of scrap metal and observed Davros. He walked over to her and sat next to her.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked quietly.

"Most likely not," she replied without looking at him. "Maybe I'm just fed up with all these rule-the-universe plans. Not that I hear that for the first time."

"I'm just afraid you made yourself an enemy. You shouldn't have provoked him like that."

"I didn't provoke him. I merely held up the mirror. You are provoking him," she said and nodded to his former self.

"No, no, no. We had that conversation last time we met. I'm more interested in your survival. I saw you destroyed. The Daleks blasted you at point-blank range," he just said to Davros.

Davros scoffed, "There was damage to my primary life-support system. The secondary and backup circuits switch in immediately. Synthetic tissue regeneration took place whilst bodily organs were held in long-term suspension."

"Blimey," his former self said and leaned down to Davros. "Wasn't that outstaying your welcome in rather a big way?"

"Until the Daleks' universal supremacy is accomplished, I cannot allow myself the luxury of death."

"Oh, poor Davros," his former self said in false pity.

"However, it is a luxury I shall delight in bestowing upon you."

"You're very generous," his former self chuckled.

He had really been mocking Davros quite a lot. But provoking? No. Not really. A bit maybe. But that wasn't really important right now. He found way more disturbing what Mira had said to Davros than his past attempts to mock or provoke him. She and Davros weren't that different? Did she have any idea what Davros had done and what he was about to do? And, most of all, was she really hating life that much? What a question. He had already heard it once, even though the Beast – through Toby – had said she dreaded life as much she dreaded death. Not hate. But was the difference in that case really that big?

 _I have to talk to her as soon as we're back in the TARDIS_ , he thought, suddenly filled with growing sorrow. Not that he hadn't been worried before, but her dangerous and almost careless confrontation with Davros had showed him in what bad shape she really was. Well, maybe that's just how she was, but he doubted it. And this time she wouldn't get away with telling him that everything was all right.

"Since my entombment, I have no knowledge of the advancement of my Daleks. Of course they have achieved great things," Davros announced with his unpleasant voice and let his attention back to the conversation between him and his former self.

"Oh, yes. Oh, yes. They've wreaked havoc and destruction, destroyed countless innocent lives...," his former self said and sat down in front of Davros, holding the now finished explosive device.

"Only the beginning!" Davros shouted. "Now I have returned, the campaign will begin in earnest. I have slept but now I have awakened, and the universe will be sorry."

Great, that was the part where Davros misquoted Napoleon. And after that...

"Davros... You...," his former self said and then stopped, lost in thoughts, "'I have slept but now I have awakened, and the universe will be...' You're misquoting Napoleon! One day I'll tell you what happened to him, too."

"Armed with new technology, I will..." Davros started.

He couldn't finish his sentence because right at this moment the door they had so carefully blocked earlier on broken down with an explosion, followed by energy rays of the Dalek weapons.

* * *

 _4th Doctor's POV_

He immediately jumped up, went to what was left of the door frame and peered round it.

"You will move into the open," he could hear one of the Daleks say. "If you fail to obey in five seconds, you will be exterminated. One, two, three..."

He had seen enough. He went back to Davros and hurried behind him, hearing the Dalek count.

"Four..."

"Hold it! Hold it," he said, showing the Daleks that had entered the room by now the explosive. "Now, tell them what I've got here," he said to Davros.

"He's holding a primed explosive device."

"And one false move and it goes right down inside his chair. I'll turn Davros and his life-support system into scrap metal. Now back off!"

"We obey only Davros!" the leading Dalek said.

 _Stupid, stupid robots._

"He's simply buying time. Do as he says," Davros intervened. Obviously he was really clinging onto life.

"Do as he says," he repeated Davro's words.

"We obey," the Dalek said after a second or two that seemed a bit like eternity, and started to retreat.

"I believe this is what's called a Mexican standoff," he murmured.

"How long do you think you can sustain your advantage?" Davros spit. "Alone and against such odds? Supported only by your little _friends_? Since when do you need so many companions?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, eh?" he laughed and jumped through the room to take a look outside once more. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he said, and then, more thoughtfully and to himself, "Wouldn't you like to know."

He really hoped that Romana and Tyssan would soon be back with reinforcements.

"So, Earth then?" he turned around and addressed Mira.

He was really curious where he would find her, and why they would be travelling together. There was something odd about her, something that didn't quite match up. It had not only been the way she spoke to Davros, there was something else. Something in her eyes he had never seen in any human's eyes before.

"Hm?" She glanced at him out of huge, grey eyes.

"You're from Earth, aren't you?"

She looked tired, he noticed. Tired, worn out, and sad. Most of all sad. It didn't really show in her face, but he could read it in her eyes. If she really was that homesick, why didn't he bring her home?

"Yeah, Earth," she said, obviously not willing to go further into it.

Well, whatever was going on with her, he would find out in time, and he was looking forward to meeting her. Even more so since he had seen his future self and her standing in the corridor, holding hands. He didn't understand what they had been talking about, but he knew they were _talking_. She was psychic, he could feel that, but why would he talk like that to a human? Just so he couldn't hear them?

Suddenly, the Daleks reappeared, bringing with them a bunch of people, looking as ragged as Tyssan. One after the other of them walked into the chamber where the Daleks had been a few moments ago, a silent procession leaving him rather dumbfounded. What were they plotting now?

"Attention. Attention," one of the Daleks yelled, "The action we are about to take is your responsibility. It will cease only when you agree to total surrender."

"No what?" he replied, seeing one of the humans stepping forward..

Then, before he realised what was going on, they exterminated him on the spot. He collapsed on the floor, and the Daleks had the next person stepping forward.

"Exterminate Exterminate!"

"Stop!" he yelled, before they could kill the second person. From the corner of his eye he saw that his future self had grabbed Mira hat her arm and was holding her back.

"You surrender?" the Dalek asked.

"All right, all right. You can have Davros but only on my conditions."

"State them."

"All slave workers to be release immediately and allowed to leave the city."

"Continue."

"Nothing to come in here until I'm out and in the clear."

"Conditions unacceptable," the Dalek announced without hesitation. "Exterminations will continue."

"Stop! One more Killing and I detonate the device. I'll destroy Davros."

"Logic unacceptable. Detonation would also destroy you."

"Yes," he chuckled, "You hadn't foreseen that one, had you?"

"Self-sacrifice illogical, therefore impossible. Extermination will continue!"

Well, he was playing high, but he wouldn't had anyone else – aside from him – dead. Not _because_ of him. He moved towards Davros, clearly showing the explosive device he was still holding.

"Agree! Agree to his terms. He will do what he says. His logic is impaired by irrational sentiment. Agree. I, Davros, command it," Davros said.

"We obey," the Daleks screamed.

He watched as the slave workers picked up the dead body and then slowly left the chamber.

"The workers have been released," the Dalek announced.

Well, then it was on him now to keep his part of the deal.

"Good, good. Now, I'll need one minute to get clear," he said, but the Daleks stayed in place. "Get back!" he shouted at them.

Finally, they started to retread.

"I told you this was life insurance," he said to Davros. "I've adapted the device to explode by remote control," he continued and attached the explosive on Davros' chair. "All I have to do is squeeze my sonic screwdriver and boom, boom, Davros."

"You need not elaborate, Doctor," Davros replied.

"Just so long as you've got it clear," he said with a grin and then left, making sure that his future self and Mira were following him.

"We'll meet again, Doctor. Never doubt it. We'll meet again," he heard Davros yelling from behind.

"Don't you be so sure."

…

Once outside, they were running over a field of stones and through rocks. He knew they had to be careful, the Daleks would certainly look for them. And indeed, he almost ran into them. They were up on a small hill, and they ducked deeply under a ledge.

"Seek and locate," one of them ordered.

"We obey," the other Daleks replied.

As the Daleks were gone and he pushed himself away from the rock, he grabbed something slimy. He took it and had a closer look at it. It was flexible, about as long as his arm, and suddenly he knew.

"A Kaled mutant, of course. The Daleks were originally organic life forms. I think you've just told me what the Daleks want with Davros, eh? Haven't you?" he said, smiled at the thing and then forcefully threw it away.

"They're looking for Kaled mutants? Why?" Mira wanted to know.

"All in due time," he said and went on.

Not much later he finally spotted Tyssan. But where was Romana? And why was Tyssan out here and not in the Morvellan spaceship?

"Doctor, Doctor," Tyssan yelled and ran over to him.

"Tyssan."

"I've been looking for you. It's hard to move around, though. The Dalek patrols are everywhere," Tyssan said, being out of breath.

"Yes, I've seen," he replied.

"I've found the other prisoners," Tyssan continued and sat down on a rock. "They've told me what you'd done to free them. They're very grateful."

Grateful? It was his fault that they were about to being exterminated in the first place. Well, for one of them it actually had been too late.

"Oh, it was nothing, nothing," he said, quickly repressing these thoughts and sat down next to Tyssan. His future self and Mira were standing opposite of them. "Where are they now?"

"Hiding. If we can lay our hands on some weapon, I'm hoping to turn them into some sort of fighting force."

"That could be very useful, Tyssan," he said and for a moment he saw the look in the eyes of his future self. He didn't seem to approve with Tyssan's plans, but he had no idea, why. Was it sadness he could see in his eyes? Regret? But why? What would happen to him in the future?

Suddenly he heard the metallic voice of a Dalek, "Remain where you are. You will turn and walk ahead of me. If you make any attempt to escape, you will be..."

He didn't manage to say any more, because he was destroyed in a huge explosion. The Doctor thought he could hear a last 'exterminated', the end of the sentence, over the explosion, but he wasn't too sure. A moment later he saw who was responsible for the destruction of the Dalek. A member of the Movellan crew came down a hill, still holding the weapon that just had destroyed the Dalek.

"Awfully decent of you. Very grateful," he said to the woman.

"You will accompany me back to our spacecraft," she replied, pointing the weapon at them now.

"All in good time. There are a few things I want to do first," he said. This wasn't really a surprise, at least for him and Tyssan. And his future self Mira on the other hand looked quite surprised.

"That is not a request. It is an order. Move!" the woman said.

"I do seem to be in demand today. Come on, Tyssan, Doctor, Mira," he said and started to walk. Then he turned around quickly and wound the weapon out of the woman's hand. He threw it over to Tyssan who threw it at his future self. He obviously knew what was going on and threw it to Mira, who looked even more surprised for a moment, but then threw it back to him, over the head of the woman. They repeated that game for three more times, then the woman suddenly sank to the ground, her eyes wide open, staring at the sky.

"Why did she turn against you?" Tyssan asked.

"Not sure she was ever for me," he said, knelt beside her and opened her uniform over her stomach. "What are you doing?" Mira asked.

"Just as I thought. Just another race of robots, no better than the Daleks," he said, as he saw some cables and electrical circuits behind a transparent coverage.

"Robots!?" Mira said, stood up, took a step backwards and looked at him, now utterly stunned.

"Yeah, robots. Why?"

"But..." she started, looked at the robot and then back at him. "I... Dammit!"

"You're swearing a lot, you know that?" he said.

"Yeah, because I should have noticed that. Why didn't I? I mean, they were lacking emotions, but still..."

"They have organic mass integrated in their circuits," his future self said as if that would explain everything.

"Yeah. Still. They may not be as dead as robots are supposed to be, but I should be able to tell them apart from actual living beings."

"Maybe you're just too tired? You need rest. You didn't sleep much lately," his future self said. "Neither did you eat much."

"What?!"

"You really look a bit worn out," he confirmed, siding up with his future self. "And a bit skinny."

"Really? Both of you now?" she said and looked back and forth between him and his future self. "And, by the way, you're in no position to call me or anyone else skinny. Taken a look at yourself lately? Well, at least that goes for the later version of you. You know what, I don't have to listen-"

Suddenly she was interrupted by a bleeping sound. He stretched his neck to see where the sound was coming from, and then he finally saw it in some distance.

 _Romana_.

She was stuffed into a huge, transparent cylinder, obviously unconscious. Well, not really stuffed, she was sitting on the ground and someone had put the cylinder over her. But it looked stuffed and particularly uncomfortable. Attached to the cylinder was some sort of device which was the source of the bleeping.

* * *

 _10th Squad 3rd Seat, Ronin Kenshin, bored411: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_


	54. Chapter 54- Destiny of the Daleks Pt 5

**Chapter LIV**

 _Mira's POV_

Without hesitation – and thinking – she followed the younger Doctor.

"Mira, wait!" her Doctor tried to stop her, but she had already reached Romana, who was stuffed under some kind of glass cylinder, together with some sort of device. Attached to the outside of the cylinder was a little screen, numbers counting down on it.

"What's that?" she asked, deliberately ignoring her Doctor waving at her. She shortly noticed that Tyssan didn't follow them, but she didn't care.

"A Nova Device," the younger Doctor replied, gently knocking at the cylinder.

"A what?"

"A Nova Device," he repeated as if that would explain it. "Once ignited, it alters the molecules of the atmosphere so that the atoms become flammable. It can burn up an entire planetary atmosphere," he added at last, without stopping to try to wake Romana.

 _Nova Device. What a suitable name for it._

Most likely it would be banned in her universe, at least by the Cosmic Hanseatic Organisation. They were having similar weapons – they just didn't burn up the atmosphere, but forcing the molecules of the planet's crust to react with each other, turning the whole planet into a gigantic nuclear reactor. Once ignited, the planet would be destroyed within a few days. The process was unstoppable. They had used these weapons a few times – as a last resort. But basically they had been banned even back in the days of the Solar Empire. But wouldn't that be a legitimate case for using them? The homeworld of the Daleks, a race threatening the galaxy, destroying Gallifrey, trying to enslave humanity, as well as other intelligent races? Well, they first had to get Romana out of this cylinder, then they could...

But before she was able to finish the thought, suddenly everything went black.

 **...**

She woke up hearing voices. She didn't know who was talking or what they were saying, and frankly, she didn't quite care. It was only the ugly headache that kept her from falling asleep again.

"Tell me, Doctor, when did you first realise we were robotic?" Slowly but surely the words that reached her ear were starting to make sense again, at least a little. She just couldn't tell who was talking.

"The night the roof fell in on Agella."

"Agella."

"Agella, yes. How's your hand?"

 _Hand?_

Someone was indeed holding her hand, but most likely that wasn't what they were talking about. Finally she blinked, but closed her eyes again almost instantly because of the bright light.

"Welcome back. You're all right?" she heard a voice, somewhat close to her head. By now the drowsiness she had felt moments ago was almost gone and she slowly started to realise what had happened. Only the nasty headache was annoyingly persistent. She knew that migraine-like, brain frying pain. Almost all stun-weapons were based on the same principle. Most likely they were shot by the Movellans, because a blow to the head would feel different.

"Dysfunction or death, as you know it, only occurs in us with massive circuitry disturbance. We are infinitely superior," she heard the female voice again. Yes, Agella. Dead and yet not dead.

She blinked again and finally opened her eyes, finding the face of her Doctor hovering in front of her eyes.

"How are you?" he asked again, whilst the other Doctor continued his conversation with the Movellans.

"Fine," she murmured and lifted herself up, first on her elbows and then into a sitting position. She felt a wave of sickness through her stomach and immediately regretted it. Indeed, she was in the control room of the Movellan space ship, sitting on the lounge.

"I told you to-" the Doctor said concerned, but she gestured him to be silent. He most likely knew what his former self was saying, but she didn't.

"We function logically," the Commander said.

"My condolences to you," the younger Doctor replied.

"Why, Doctor?"

"Because you'll never defeat the Daleks. Let me demonstrate." he said and turned to Romana, who was sitting on the lounge just like herself and the two Doctors. "Romana?"

"Yes?"

She noticed that none of them seemed to be in such a miserable state as she was. Well, obviously the Movellan weapons didn't effect them as much as her.

"Good. We're going to play a game. You know rock-paper-scissors?"

"Yes, but-"

"And," the younger Doctor said and started, hitting with his fist on the palm of his other hand three times, Romana doing the same, even though she obviously had no idea where this was heading. "Paper wraps stone."

They were going for another round.

"What were you doing that for?" she asked her Doctor, but he just silently shook his head.

"And stone blunts scissors," Romana said, this time she had won.

By now some of the Robots, including the Commander, had gathered around them and were watching seemingly fascinated.

"Scissors cuts paper," the Doctor said and laughed, because he had won. "But suppose we were two computers controlling two great battle fleets, eh? Each one working perfectly logically to outmanoeuvre the other." He waved at the robots. "Well, you're robots. You try it."

"We're perfectly-" the Commander said, but got interrupted.

"Try it!" the Doctor repeated way louder this time, making her cover her ears and wince in pain."Go on."

The robots obeyed, but every time they ended up with the same symbol.

"Ha!", the younger Doctor said finally and caught their hands, "You see, you're caught in an impasse of logic. You've discovered the recipe for everlasting peace. Congratulations, I'm terribly pleased."

She already knew that the Doctor had a sense for sarcasm, but with his current regeneration it was a bit different.

"Our objective is victory, Doctor, the destruction of the Dalek Fleet," the Commander said.

"You want to destroy the Dalek Fleet? Seems like we all want the same thing," she murmured, and suddenly she found three reproachful pairs of eyes on her. Oh hell.

"You play with me, eh? Come on," the younger Doctor looked away again and addressed the Commander. This time he obeyed instantly.

"Paper," the Commander said.

"Scissors cuts paper," the Doctor replied.

"Stone."

"Paper wraps stone."

"Scissors."

"Stone blunts scissors. Again. Scissors cuts paper," the Doctor said.

"Stone."

"Paper wraps stone."

"Scissors."

"Stone blunts scissors," the Doctor won another round, and then they stopped playing.

For a moment the Commander seemed to be deeply in thought whilst he was processing something. "Thank you, Doctor," he said eventually. "Our battle computers must have a new element programmed into them. An advantage, however small, that will change the balance of power. You."

"The Daleks want the same thing," Romana said.

"Yes," the younger Doctor confirmed.

"When we reach the fleet you will reprogram our computers," the Commander said.

"I will?"

"Yes. The Dalek fleet will be wiped from the heavens and nothing will stand in our way of the conquest of the galaxy."

"Why the hell is everyone so bloody obsessed with conquering the galaxy?" she suddenly yelled at the Commander, instantly regretting it as a sharp pain shot through her head.

"Because they're robots," the younger Doctor said, and then addressed the Commander again. "You've overlooked something. Suppose I was willing to help you to change the balance of power, which I'm not, Davros will be doing the exactly same things for the Daleks. I mean, he may be mad, but his computer skills are almost as great as mine."

 _Great. Because they're robots._

What sort of explanation was that supposed to be? Robots with a Nova Device, out and about to conquer the galaxy. But no matter how one would look at it, the Movellans alone would still be better than the Daleks _and_ the Movellans. Or at least, the Daleks and the Movellans would be better than the Daleks with Davros and their homeworld and the Movellans. So, as this dammed Nova Device already was on Skaro, then...

"That is precisely why we're taking you with us, Doctor. When we're safely in space, the Nova Device will detonate and destroy Davros. With your skills, the impasse will be broken," the Commander put her thoughts into words. Then he turned his attention to other things, leaving them there, guarded by one of his crew members.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He sat next to Mira and watched his former self and Romana play rock-paper-scissors. He knew what was about to happen next, or at least, what was supposed to happen next. Tyssan would show up, he would distract one of the Robots, the robot would get shot by Tyssan, there would be a short fight and the Movellans would be disabled. At least as long as Mira wouldn't do something unexpected. But from the looks of it he probably shouldn't worry too much - she hardly seemed to be in a state to do anything. She was pale, her eyes were narrowed and she seemed to have a terrible headache – all in all she looked pretty miserable, and he could hardly resist the urge to pull her in his arms to comfort her. Somehow he got the feeling she wouldn't like that right now.

"Scissors cuts paper," he heard Romana say, and then she whispered, "Let's get out."

"Yes. Paper wraps stone," his former self said, "How?"

"Stalemate. Do something," Romana replied.

Yeah, do something. He was always doing something, always coming up with some plan. For a moment he thought about what if - what if he had known back then what would happen to Gallifrey, to his people. What _he_ would do one day. Would he have let the Movellans kill Davros? What would have happened to the Daleks without Davros?

"When I give the signal, move," his former self said and stood up, only to be shoved down again by their guard. "Stone blunts scissors," he immediately continued the game.

"Good plan," Romana said, "Scissors cuts paper. Paper wraps..."

"Jelly Baby," his former self said, and suddenly Romana had a jelly baby on her palm.

"Jelly baby?"

"Hmm," he said and took it back from her. "Doctor catches robot," he then whispered and ate it.

He looked over to the door, it was about time, just to see Tyssan returning.

"Don't you ever speak to me like that again, you understand? Never!" his former self suddenly yelled at Romana and jumped up. He had seen Tyssan as well and was now trying to distract their guard.

Romana didn't hesitate but played along, "What did I say?"

"Jelly Baby. You keep out of this," his former self said to the robot guard, who had come closer. "It's a personal matter, isn't it?"

"Yes," Romana confirmed.

"Mind your own business!" his former self said to the robot.

"You tell him!"

"And you mind your own business, too," he turned at Romana again.

"What?"

"Duck!"

That was the moment when Tyssan shot at their guard. Suddenly the rest of the slave workers stormed the control room, and all hell broke loose. Some of the workers got stunned, some of the robots got ripped of their little control devices they needed to function.

He turned his head and grabbed hold of Mira's arm. "You stay out of that!" he said and pulled Mira behind the couch just as she was about to join the fight. As if she was in any condition to do so. What was going on with her? She must have known that she wouldn't stand a chance right now.

"It's the little devices?" she asked.

"What's with them?" He followed her eyes to the little black devices the robots were carrying on their belts, together with their weapons.

"Nothing. Just... I thought you - your past self – took the weapon from her. Earlier, outside, you know? But it was that little black thing?"

"Yeah. No. I took both. But it's that little black thing they need to function, so I took it as well. You're a bit confused today, aren't you?"

"No, I just didn't pay attention, that's all," she said, trying to sound casually.

By now the fight was almost over – his former self was whistling with a dog whistle, before saying, "Oh well, so much for logic." He handed one of the control devices to Romana. "A mind that could be scrambled by a dog whistle."

"These are the Movellan minds?" Romana asked.

"Well, not quite. They're just power packs with some main circuits."

"Orders for the day and the power to carry them out," Romana said.

"Yes, that's it. Tyssan!" his former self said, and Tyssan walked over to them. "Well done, Tyssan. Any news of Davros?"

"Nothing."

"The Daleks will be sending a ship for him. We mustn't let him get away."

"We've only got a handful of men. How can we stop him?"

"One, two, three four, five," his former self was counting the men Tyssan had brought with him. "I'll go alone. Ask me why."

"Why?"

"They're unconscious. Also I'm a very dangerous fellow when I don't know what I'm doing. You stay here, Tyssan. You'll need the ship to get home. Romana, you help him," he said, entered the lift that would bring him down and out of the ship. "I will return," was the last he heard of himself through the closed doors.

"When will you come back? Will it take long?" Romana asked him.

"Well... You know... Spoilers?" he replied and looked at her, scratching his neck.

It wouldn't take long. He would have a nice chat with Davros, destroy one of his Daleks, and bring Davros to blow up the other Daleks that he had armed with explosives and sent out to destroy the Movellan ship, before they actually could reach their destination. He had improvised, as always.

"I'll go and see if we've got all of them," Tyssan said and left the control room.

After a while – they had helped to put the unconscious men on the couch in the meantime – he returned.

"Well, we got them all," he confirmed.

"Was the Commander with them?" Romana asked.

"No. I thought he was up here."

"Well, I can't find him."

"Oh, he's not important. Even if he got away, he can't do much on his own."

"The Nova Device!", Romana suddenly yelled. "He'll try to detonate!"

She ran to the lift, and just before the doors closed, Mira jumped in with her.

"Wait!" he yelled, but it was too late.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She ran after Romana, trying to keep up with her and ignoring the throbbing pain in her head. Both weren't easy tasks, and as she thought she wouldn't make it for another fifty yards, she saw one of the robots crawling towards the device that was sitting in the middle of nowhere on a patch of sand. Romana jumped at him without hesitation as soon as she reached him, trying to take the control device from him. They struggled for a moment until he pushed her away from him and it almost seemed as if he would reach the Nova Device, if only for a moment. As he was stretching out his arm, Romana shoved it away, ripping it straight off of him.

Mira froze to the spot for a moment. She knew that the Doctor, and for that most likely all of his species, were quite strong. Stronger than humans at least, but ripping an arm straight off of a robot really required some force. She watched Romana struggle for a moment longer with the robot until he finally got deactivated, and suddenly she knew it would be now or never.

She jumped over to the device and took it, just before Romana could reach it.

"Good, that was just in time," Romana said as she stood up and patted some sand off her cloak. "Give it to me, I'll deactivate it."

"No," she replied after she had taken a few steps back and away from Romana. She knew that wouldn't help her, the other woman was stronger and faster, but she had to try.

 _What the hell am I doing?_

She looked down at the device. It was rather small, all painted black. Her gaze was sliding over the big, red button and a small display for the timed detonator. She knew that detonating it wouldn't free the universe from the Dalek threat. But it would kill Davros and destroy their homeworld. Maybe it would be their end, maybe not, who could say that? Maybe it would save Gallifrey, and many other planets and species out in the universe. At least it was worth a try. The Daleks would blame it on the Movellans, wouldn't they?

Yes, she had promised the Doctor she wouldn't intervene. Wait. No. She had only promised she wouldn't tell his former self anything, hadn't she? Either way, wasn't it in her responsibility to try to end it, here and now? If not for the Doctor's sake and the sake of his people, then for humanity?

"What?" Romana asked, seemingly confused.

"I think the Movellans were right, at least in one way," she said carefully.

"You want to explode it? You'll kill us!"

"I don't have a death wish. We could program it to detonate later, just as the Movellans had planned it," she replied and watched Romana closely. How much could she tell her without saying too much?

"Mira, put that down!" she heard another voice.

Great. Of course he had to follow her, she thought as the slender figure of her Doctor appeared behind Romana.

"No!" she replied stubbornly, looking back and forth between the Doctor and Romana. She had to admit that she had had better plans before. Right now, it wasn't even a bad plan, it was worse. It was more like the absence of any plan at all. Probably the only thing stopping Romana or the Doctor from simply taking the device from her was them being afraid of accidentally setting it off.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He should have known it. Well, at least some part of him should. The rest of him still couldn't believe that she was standing there, the Nova Device in her hands.

"Mira, please, you can't do that!"

"No? Why not? Because you couldn't do it? Well, guess what, I'm not you."

"Because you can't interfere with the timelines. You promised me!"

"As far as I remember I only promised not to tell you anything. And I didn't. Besides, I think the whole situation now is a bit bigger than just you and me and promises we made. The Daleks are not only a threat to your- They are a threat to everyone in this galaxy. And if I-"

Did she really think she could stop the Daleks here and now?

"Mira, you're not killing them all. It's just a few of them here and Davros! What-"

"Right, Davros. You yourself said you could have stopped him. You didn't. Maybe now is the time to finally do so."

"By murdering him?" He watched her. He had no idea if she was only acting like this out of her current condition, or if she would be doing it anyway - he wished for the first, but somehow he dreaded it was the later. And he hated even more to admit that she was right; somehow. He probably should have stopped Davros when he'd had the chance to. But he hadn't, and now it was too late. There was no way to change that, at least not without consequences that could destroy everything.

 _Could they?_

"Maybe that's so," he continued carefully because she obviously chose to remain silent. "But still, you can't change the timeline, that would-"

"What makes you so sure I'd change it? Maybe that's what's supposed to happen? You said it yourself, with us being here everything is in flux again. Maybe that's why we're here? To do what _you_ couldn't do back then?"

"What _I_ couldn't do? You mean, murdering Davros?" No need to hide the fact that she was about to murder him behind flowery phrases of saving the universe. Even if she would just do what the Movellans had planned to do anyway, his blood would be on her hands.

"I mean to probably save a lot of lives."

"By murdering someone?" he approached her until he stood hardly three feed away, ignoring that she was trying to hide the device behind her back. At least she wasn't retreating, but remained where she was. She didn't even lower her gaze but looked him straight in the eyes. "How would that make you better than him?"

"We're talking about Davros and the Daleks. Do I really have to explain-"

"Do you believe I don't know that!?" he said, his voice raised but instantly trying to calm himself again. No point in getting emotional. "Do you really think I let you do that? Let you murder someone?"

"What's it to you? And besides, I think it's better than walking away, washing my hands of it and letting him go on with his quest to not only conquer the universe but to kill every living being, as long as the moral high ground is mine? Let me tell you something: There isn't always a moral high ground."

What it was to him? He could hardly believe they were back at this point again. Or was she just talking in rage?

"So, that's it then?" he said. "Is that what you meant by standing up and fight for your ideals rather than hide behind them? Living with the fact that you deliberately murdered someone and destroyed a whole planet?"

"That's my problem, not yours. I have to live with it. And even though I appreciate your concerns for my salvation, I'm afraid you're a little late for that."

She didn't sound cynical whilst saying that, she just stated it as a matter of fact. And that was more disturbing to him than any cynicism or self-loathing she could have put into that sentence.

"So it's true what the Beast said? It called you destroyer of the stars, didn't it?"

"I don't know. Was it? _How much_ of what it said was true, hm?" she said, trying to sound confident, but he could see her lower lip shivering. What had she done? He didn't believe she had done anything out of bad intentions or sheer malignity, but sometimes believing doing the right thing with the best intentions was the worst. He himself knew that all too well, and yet he couldn't tell her. Not now with Romana standing behind him. He wasn't even sure he could bring himself to tell her without Romana being present.

"Do you honestly believe it's on you to decide who shall live and who shall die?" he asked quietly instead of answering her questions.

"With letting him get away you decide that a lot more people have to die," she replied flatly. "How's that any different?"

He could definitely see her point. And he knew exactly that Davros would get away eventually. And yet it would be just wrong. Not only for the sake of the timelines and the consequences of altering them that not even he was able to foresee, but also for her sake. No matter what she had done so far in her life, he wouldn't let her kill another one. But wasn't she right? That there sometimes wasn't a moral high ground? What would all the people say who would die at the hand of the Daleks and subsequently Davros? Would they care if someone did a morally questionable thing to save their lives? On the other hand, she didn't know. She didn't know how things would work out between him and Davros, that he even saved him – not only once – and that he would finally die in the Last Great Time War?

 _Because I've never told her._

But it wasn't just about Davros. There was Skaro. What impact would the destruction of their homeworld have on the Daleks? As he was still searching for an answer, he saw his former self out of the corner of his eye, walking behind Mira and taking the Nova Device nonchalantly out of her hands. That was weird, he couldn't remember coming back here. But, on the other hand, the last time Romana had been back in the Movellan ship, so there had been no need to go looking for her.

"Ah, good, you've got the Nova Device," his former self said and smiled widely as Mira spun around. "Oh, and sorry to interrupt your conversation, I'm certain it was an interesting one. Just a shame that it would take a few more years till I'll have it again. But I think you might be interested to hear that Davros is in the control room of the Movellan space ship."

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She felt utterly defeated as she was standing in the control room together with the two Doctors, Romana and Tyssan. Davros was indeed there, in some sort of cryogenic chamber. He would have stared at them if he head eyes, she was sure about that. Instead the only thing that gleamed at them was the blue bulb on his forehead. She still didn't know if she really would have set off the Nova Device. The Doctor was right, it wouldn't have made her better than the Daleks. And certainly murder wasn't right. But if a peaceful coexistence wasn't possible, what then? Could she just let him get away, patting herself on the shoulder and say: Well, at least I proved I was better than them? What would her father have done? He had always tried to avoid violence and destruction, but sometimes there hadn't been another way.

Now they were about to hand Davros over to Earth, but it still felt wrong.

"All elephants are pink, Nellie is an elephant, therefore Nellie is pink. Logical?" the younger Doctor asked Davros lightly.

Well, at least someone seemed to be in a good mood. She herself? Not so much. The throbbing pain in her head had become even worse, and she felt like throwing up any moment. She just wanted to get back to the TARDIS and lay down for a while. At the same time she dreaded being alone with the Doctor. Not so much because of being afraid what he had to tell her regarding what she had been about to do, but rather that he would bring up again what the Beast had said. She had a feeling that she wouldn't get away easily this time, and she knew exactly how she could dish out when she felt cornered. Even more so in her current condition, having the migraine of the year, thin-skinned and physically and mentally exhausted. So either she would go on the offensive – and then it would get really ugly – or she would probably just break down. Either way, it was a disaster waiting to happen.

"Perfectly," Davros replied.

"You know what a human would say to that?" the younger Doctor asked.

"What?"

"Elephants aren't pink."

"Humans do not understand logic," Davros said scornfully.

"They're not slaves to it like the Daleks or the Movellans," Romana pointed out.

"That's why the Daleks came back for you. They remembered they were once organic creatures themselves, capable of irrational, intuitive thought. And they wanted you to give it back to them, to get them out of their trap of logic," the younger Doctor explained.

Mira watched him and wondered for a moment if her Doctor only let Davros go now because of the timelines, or if he was still able to be that lenient with him, even after all that had happened since he had been his former self.

"I have failed," Davros replied.

"Yes. What does it feel like?" the younger Doctor wanted to know.

"What will happen to me?" Davros asked instead of giving an answer.

"A high security ship has started out from Earth to meet us. You will be taken to stand trial for your crimes against the whole of sentient creation."

"There is not a ship, not a prison that can hold me!" Davros yelled.

"No, but I think this little device can. It's a cryogenic freezer. Even you can't escape from a solid block of ice. Bye-Bye, Davros," the younger Doctor said and flipped a switch.

As she was still watching how Davros turned into a block of ice, someone pulled at her sleeve. She looked up and saw the younger Doctor, looking down at her and nodding silently to the door where Romana and her Doctor were already standing. Everyone else in the control room was focused on Davros, and so she followed the Doctor.

"I don't like goodbyes," he said as they were out of the space ship.

"But we have to say goodbye," she replied and rubbed her aching forehead as she was walking at his side, fully aware that her Doctor and Romana were walking behind them, able to hear every word.

"Yeah, but I'll see you again eventually. And I'm looking forward to it, Mira. I just hope it won't take another seven-hundred and fifty years."

"Seven-hundred and fifty years!?" she repeated, stopped in her tracks and turned around to face her Doctor. Hadn't he said something about four-hundred and fifty years?

"Well... Are you sure?" he said and looked at his former self, the expression on his face a mixture of embarrassment and confusion.

"Am I? Quite so, I might say. Why?"

"You got your age wrong – a bit," she answered in his stead.

"Did I?" he younger Doctor replied.

"Well, it's obvious that no one has told you what a sensitive topic that is for him," Romana said and smirked at her. "Some might almost say he's a bit vain about that."

"That's not true!" both of them said as one.

"Seems you have to do some calculations now," she said to him. "It's understandable to lose track. As said, I stopped counting at thousand, and then the centuries just flew by." She was trying to make it sound lightly, but she had the suspicion she failed miserably, and not only because of her migraine.

"A thousand?" the younger Doctor said and stared at her, obviously dumbfounded for a moment.

"Well, that's enough. Spoilers? And, by the way, that's it. My TARDIS," her Doctor hurried to said, and indeed, not even thirty yards away was the old time ship.

"May I have a look inside?" the younger Doctor asked, but her Doctor just shook his head.

"Well then, Mira, looking forward to seeing you again," he smiled at her, but, unlike his future self, he didn't make any attempt to hug her.

For a moment she felt incredibly sad for him, knowing what would happen to him before he would see her the next time.

It must have shown on her face because he asked, "What?" the smile slowly disappearing from his face.

"Nothing," she said. And after a moment of hesitation she hugged him, whispering in his ear, "Take care."

"I will," he said, quite surprised. "I always take care, don't I, Romana?"

"Well...," she started but didn't finish. Instead she turned to Mira. "I don't know if we'll see each other ever again, so: Farewell. Nice meeting you." She extended her hand, and Mira shook it for a moment.

"Oh, and really nice meeting the future you too," Romana smiled at her Doctor.

"Yes, but I should really not start saying 'Oi'," the younger Doctor said indignantly, then they turned around and walked away.

"What's so bad about 'Oi'?" her Doctor said and looked at her as indignantly as his former self had sounded.

* * *

 _10th Squad 3rd Seat, bored411 and guest: Thanks for reviewing :-)_

 _theladyofthelost: Thank you very much for your review :-) You really reread it? That's really awesome to hear :-))_


	55. Chapter 55 - Breakdown

**Chapter LV**

 _Mira's POV_

They walked back to the TARDIS in silence. She didn't mind that - the only thing she wanted to do now was lying in the dark, without hearing anything and, most of all, without having to talk to anyone. The throbbing pain in her head was even worse now, leaving her feeling sick to her stomach. The Doctor was right, she really needed to get some sleep; at least for a few hours. At the same time she knew she wouldn't find the peace of mind she needed for being able to sleep – too much had happened over the last hours. The confrontation with Davros, her non-plan to destroy Skaro, her feelings towards the Doctor – _her_ Doctor as well as his past self, for whom she felt so incredibly sorry and somehow even guilty towards him – all that had brought up too much about her own situation and her past, things she would rather not think about; things she had locked away into a dark and deep corner in her mind. Things that were, besides her efforts to keep them hidden, slowly creeping up on her, lurking in a corner, staring at her back, waiting for her to let her guards down, for a moment of carelessness to finally catch up with her again.

It really felt as if this time had come now. It would catch up with her, even though she never thought she had been running away from anything. Repression wasn't the same thing as running, was it? She had dealt with these things as far as she was able to, but she couldn't turn back time and make them undone.

She shouldn't have talked to Davros, she thought as she followed the Doctor into the TARDIS. At least not in his presence. She just hoped he would leave her in peace, at least for some hours.

She walked past the Doctor as inconspicuously as possible as he hung his coat over one of the columns, hoping that he wouldn't stop her, but it was in vain.

"Mira?" she heard quietly from behind her, and the tone of his voice made quite clear that she wouldn't get away as easy as she was hoping.

 _Please, just leave me alone._

She really didn't feel in any shape for a confrontation right now.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

She slowly turned around, and everything about her – from the tired, worn out expression on her face, her sloping shoulders and her stiff movements that made her really seem like a very old woman of sixteen-hundred years, if only for a moment – was making him doubt his decision to talk to her right now. She needed rest more than anything else. But he knew if he let it go now, he would never come back to it.

And there was something else that almost made him stop. He never had any problems confronting people with themselves - as long as he wasn't involved in it. But this time he was. It was not only about her, but about him as well. There was no way she would give away anything or let him get closer without giving away pieces of him and the things he had done. He knew that since the night in 1969 at the launch area. But not even that could stop him now, even though he couldn't say why. Sure, he cared about her, as he did about a lot of people, but something was different with her. Very different. He just couldn't put his finger on it. But- Well, maybe there was an explanation for that, but – no. No way. He liked her, there were things they had in common, a lot of things actually, but that's it.

Right at this moment a feeling of utter annoyance from the TARDIS flooded his mind, together with an image of him being slapped on the back of his head.

 _Not now!_

"What's going on with you?" he asked, instantly knowing that it probably was the most cliché way of opening a conversation like that.

She stared at him for a moment out of huge, grey eyes before finally saying, "Nothing."

 _Nothing? Great. So much for cliché._

Just the answer he had expected. He crossed his arms and raised his brows. "Nothing? Really? Just... Nothing? As in: I didn't just plan to blow up the whole planet, told Davros something about hating life and-"

"Nothing as in: It's none of your business and I don't want to talk right now because I have a bloody headache," she cut him off. With that said, she turned around and walked to the stairs that led out of the console room.

"So that's it then?" he said as he watched her walking away, knowing that he hadn't managed to not show the anger in his voice. It made him fully realise just how loaded the whole situation was. "You'll just walk away, bottle it up and go on pretending everything's alright?"

She stopped, and after a moment of just standing there she turned around again. "I don't pretend anything. I just don't see any need for talking, that's it. Oh and, by the way, I think I'm not the only one in here when it comes to pretending and bottling up things." She had her arms crossed now as well and stared at him with a mixture of beginning rage, tiredness and pain in her eyes. Her head must really be aching badly from being shot by the Movellans, which made him regret that he had started this conversation now. But at the same time he was absolutely fed up and angered with watching her silently wallowing in misery.

"I'm not-," he started. Well, yes. He actually _had_ a tendency to bottle up things, but that wasn't the point right now. "It's not about me right now. It's-"

"It's not? Oh, how convenient! Otherwise we had to talk about all the things _you_ didn't tell _me_!"

"Mira, just let me finish what I-"

"No!" she yelled. "We're done talking. Yes, I wanted to 'blow up' Skaro. And I still stand by my decision. Accept it or don't, I don't care. Oh, and you know what? I would act like that again, at any time." She had been gesticulating angrily with her hands, but now she crossed her arms again. A bit too late, he had already seen how her hands were shaking. No matter how controlled she seemed to be at some times, it always gave away how agitated she really was. "The Daleks and Davros pose a threat to the whole universe, including humanity. As said, like what I was about to do or not. Throw me out for that or don't, I don't care."

He was outright speechless for a moment. Her words could have sounded defiant, but they didn't. Well, at least the part that she would do it again at any time. Saying that she didn't care about him accepting it or not did indeed sound slightly defiant. But in these words he could also hear a bit of fear, as if she was indeed afraid that he would condemn her for that.

"You really would have done it?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. "Even without knowing the consequences it would have on the timelines? You could have destroyed the whole galaxy." That was not true, he knew it. Time had been in flux back then, and she could have done it without any temporal damage. He could have done it. It was against every single Law of Time, but he could have done it.

 _Could..._

It took her a moment to answer, rubbing her temples and her forehead with her hands. "I don't know," she finally said, her voice hardly more than a sigh. "Maybe. Most likely. And no, I don't think I would have destroyed the galaxy. You said it, everything was in flux. And it was true. I knew it. You'll most likely don't believe me, because I'm only a stupid little human with a tiny little human brain, and humans can't know these things, but still, I knew it."

Not long ago he would have agreed. Humans couldn't know about these things. But too much had happened since then that had proven her right. But he couldn't help himself, he was still slightly sceptical.

"That would have been murder," he finally said. "How could you justify that?"

"Justify? Not at all," she replied, and it was clear to hear that her nerves were quite frayed by now. "And I already told you that. We had this discussion just recently on Skaro, remember? So would you just stop it?"

"Stop what? Worrying about you?" he almost yelled, whilst approaching her until he was standing hardly two feed away. "Stop thinking about what's going on with you? Why you told Davros you and he are quite alike? In what way? Hating live? And how did the Beast put it? Being afraid of life and dead? And what did it mean with 'Destroyer of the stars'? Is that what you mean I'm too late for being concerned for your salvation?"

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She stared at him in utter disbelief. Well, she had seen it coming, in some way, but she had really hoped he wouldn't come back to it. Plus, she had never seen him like that. Yes, he had been enraged before, but he had always seemed to not let things get too close to him, even if he really was engaged in the events. But right now she had the feeling she could see more of him, the real him, than ever before. Well, apart from the short moments their minds had been in contact. Now there was something in his deep dark eyes, soemthing she had got a glimpse of before, something incredibly intense that made him seem more alien as any alien life form she had ever encountered before, despite his overall human appearance.

And he wasn't only enraged. With that she could deal, but he really seemed to worry about her. And that she hated because she just couldn't handle it.

"You can't just let it go, can you?" she finally said, almost yelling. She was really shattered by now and she knew that at some point she would say something really nasty, just to get out of this situation. "The Beast was telling lies, you said it yourself. Bloody lies, that's it. And you know what? I don't have to listen to this. Just leave me alone. It's my problems, not yours. I don't need to talk about _anything_ , and most of all, I don't need help. Not yours, nor anyone else's," she added and quickly turned around before he could see the tears forming in her eyes. She continued her way to the stairs, hoping he wouldn't follow, but she could already hear his steps behind her.

"So, you don't think you need help? You don't _need_ it or you don't _want_ it? Have you looked at yourself lately?" she heard him saying behind her as she walked down the stairs. She went a few steps further into the corridor, then turned around again because he was still following her.

"There is no help," she said whilst rubbing the root of her nose. That was clearly the worst migraine in the last ten years. "That's it. And you now what? As you probably won't stop bothering me otherwise: Surprise, surprise, the Beast was actually right. It's not even a bloody secret. You can read in every fucking history book what I had a hand in. It's a fact. And all talking in the universe won't change it. Just as with me being-"

 _Stuck here._

She couldn't bring herself to say it. "There's no way- Well, that's that. Talking won't change that either." She looked at him, trying to fight back the tears as well as the sudden feeling of nausea. "So can we now go back to pretending that the Beast was lying?"

She turned around again quickly, hoping that he wouldn't go further into that topic. Not now. Apart from that, she still couldn't imagine why the Beast had called him the killer of his own kind. What did it mean by that? Well, the sentence was pretty clear, but how? Or had _this_ actually been a lie? She hoped so, she really did. There was now way he could be responsible for the destruction of his homeworld she thought as she continued to walk to her room, with him still following her.

"So that's the only help you can think of? Making things undone? Not maybe something like: Helping you to handle whatever has happened?" she heard him behind her.

She now tried to ignore him. Why would she rely on other people when it came to handling her problems? They would all leave her – die - sooner or later, and she would be left on her own. So no point in letting them close to her. Now she had even lost the few people she had thought she would never lose; even though she knew they could die, and it was more than likely with the live they were leading, that something would happen to them sooner or later. And she had always thought she would never survive losing them.

Suddenly, everything seemed to overwhelm her, readying to jump out of the dark corner where it was lurking, ready to sink sharp teeth into her neck.

 _I need sleep. Just silence for some hours until the headache is gone and then pull myself together again._

Finally, she reached the door to her room, with the Doctor still at her heels.

"Listen," she said and faced him again whilst leaning against the door frame, "I really appreciate what you're trying to do, but-"

Suddenly, she felt her stomach churn. For real this time, and without another word she tore open the door to her room, then the door to her bathroom, slamming shut and locking the latter before she reached the toilet, just in time.

She hadn't eaten anything lately, but her stomach didn't seem to be overly impressed by that when she was gagging and coughing and sobbing with her head over the toilet. Unfortunately it didn't make her feel any less sick, neither was it doing anything for her head. Finally, when she was at least not feeling like throwing up any more, she slowly got up – even though she considered for a moment to just stay right here, on the cold bathroom floor, because it would save her a lot of way for the next couple of hours – flushed and walked over to the wash-basin to rinse her mouth and wash her face. Just now she heard him knocking at the door. "You're alright? Do you need any help?"

"Just go," she said, still sobbing.

But instead of doing so, he now tried the handle.

"It's looked," she said, tried to avoid looking in the mirror, walked to the door and opened it after unlocking it. If there was anything to make the whole situation even more pathetic than it would be to lock herself into the bathroom.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He hated it when he was contemned to do nothing. Sure, he could have unlocked the door, but he didn't dare. She has locked it for a reason; she obviously didn't want him in there now. And he probably should respect that, as long as she didn't pass out or anything like that. Humans...

It was all his fault. He shouldn't have started this fight, for he had known that she wasn't feeling well. Just as he tried the handle again the door opened, and for a moment he caught a look at her face as she pushed past him. She was white as a sheet and her eyes were reddened. Without saying a word she sat down on the edge of her bed, her head resting heavy in her hands. He crouched in front of her, but she didn't look up.

"Do you want to lie down?" he asked quietly, but she just started to slightly shake her head, only to stop again almost immediately.

"Do you need anything? I can go to the sickbay and see-"

This time she didn't shook her head, but interrupted him, "No. I just want to be alone."

"Sure? I certainly have something for your headache somewhere. Seems humans get migraines in every universe-"

"No, really, I don't think it-"

She didn't finish the sentence, but jumped up the next moment and, as he was following her, slammed the bathroom door in his face again.

So he could only stand here and wait - again. He felt completely helpless as he leaned with his forehead against the closed door, hearing her being sick again. Of course she had managed to lock the door again, and somehow that didn't really surprise him.

After a while he knocked again. He had heard water running, but then there was only silence, apart from her sobbing.

"What's going on? You're coming out?"

"No," he heard her faint voice from inside the bathroom.

"Then open the door, please."

"No, just go. I'll stay in here."

"What?"

"Go away!"

With a sigh he produced his sonic screwdriver and unlocked the door, being fully aware that she would probably hate him for that. But he just couldn't leave her in there all alone. He found her sitting in one of the corners, eyes closed, her forehead leaning against the cold tiles of the wall.

"What are you doing?" he said as he was kneeling next to her. "You're freezing."

"Just go. I stay in here. I'll be fine, really...," she mumbled without opening her eyes, sounding not really convincing.

He only shook his head, not caring about if she could see it or not. She wouldn't stay in here on the cold floor, freezing like that. Without another word he got back on his feed and picked her up.

"Hey, stop it...," she said as she instinctively put her arms around his neck.

Ignoring her weak protest he carried her back into her room and put her carefully on the bed. He sat down next to her after he had covered her with the blanket and said, "What were you about to say before you ran to the bathroom?"

"Hm?"

For a moment he simply looked at her. He didn't believe she was feeling so bad only because she had been stunned by the Movellans. Probably it was all coming together now, the lack of sleep, not eating and the mental stress, or maybe she just had these migraine headaches from time to time.

"Why don't you want me to look for something for your headache?" he said and gently brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen over her face. For a moment his hand came to rest on the side of her head, just long enough to get a grasp of her condition. He had always been able to tell that from touching people like that, it had been consistent throughout all his regenerations.

"It'd be no use," she said and shortly blinked at him, only to immediately close her eyes again. "Don't," she said as he pulled back his hand, "It's so wonderfully cold..."

"Why would it be no use?" he wanted to know, gently stroking her forehead with his hand.

Instead of answering she just pulled her little, egg-shaped pendant out underneath her dress.

He looked at it for a moment in confusion, until he remembered.

"Remember what I said about neutralising toxins and poisons?" she started to explain as he remained silent and he could hear how exhausting it was for her to speak. "Unfortunately, it's not really selective."

"So medicine is not working on you any more?"

"At least some... Don't ask me why not everything. At least none we have for headaches is working. Seems there's always a catch...," she whispered and turned around slightly with her back to the wall, coiling herself up.

"But I can see if I find something that-"

"Please, just leave me alone," she said and covered her face with her hands, obviously not capable of dealing with anything right now. "It'll be fine in a few hours, really."

He didn't answer, but neither did he leave. He just looked down at her, still gently stroking over her hair. She was breathing heavily and he could see the strain in her face. There must be something he could do for her. Sure, he could always carry her to the sickbay, but he doubted she would like that. And it wasn't that her live was in danger, not even remotely. He just couldn't stand to see her suffering like that.

"So you think you can sleep?" he eventually said, as quietly as possible, after some minutes.

She blinked and then watched him with eyes half open, as if being surprised that he was still here. "No. Just lying here is fine, really...," she said and closed her eyes again.

He shook is head. That couldn't go on like this.

"Mira... Do you trust me?"

Maybe there was a way to help her, at least so that she could sleep for a few hours.

She looked at him shortly before closing her eyes again and said with a whiny voice, "Oh please, just not now..."

"Mira, please. I only want to help you."

"Dammit. Do whatever you want, but please, stop bothering me," she whispered.

"Okay."

Her eyes shot open once more, obviously being alarmed by his casual tone, just as he was reaching with his hand for her temple.

"What the hell?" she said, shoved his hand away and then winced in pain because of the sudden movement.

"You said I could do what I want as long as I-"

"I didn't."

"You did. Mira, please. I only want to help you. You need to sleep. Please, trust me. Just this once."

She looked at him, and he could see how it was working behind her eyes.

"Just go. I don't want anyone to mess with my head now," she finally said, sounding everything but convinced by her own words.

"I'm not _messing_ with your head," he said, slightly indignantly. He would never do that, to no one. "I only want to help you to get some rest. I promise, I won't do anything else."

For a moment they just looked at each other as he was waiting for an answer. As she remained silent, he reached out for her temple again, and this time she didn't try to shove his hand away. She slightly winced as he touched her, and as he reached out for her mind he could feel a hint of fear, but her despair and and pain were much stronger. Feelings that were reflecting in her eyes that were still locked with his.

 _Don't be afraid,_ he sent her in an attempt to calm her down, this time remembering very well that she was human and that he had to keep his powers down, even more so right now. Then he closed his eyes as he tried to push all her feelings of pain, confusion and anxiety into the background, projecting images of tranquillity and sleep into her mind. It wasn't as easy this time as it had been with Chloe, but after a few moments he could feel how she was relaxing and finally drifting off to sleep.

* * *

 _NeoMulder, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, theladyofthelost, bored411: Thanks for reviewing :-)_

 _darklarko: Thank you :-) I've actually thought about something like this, let's see how (and if) it'll fit in at some place ;-)_


	56. Chapter 56 - Carry On

**Chapter LVI**

 _Mira's POV_

She woke up some hours later, not entirely sure where she was – the bed didn't quite feel like the ones at ships of the Fleet, but neither did it quite feel like the one in her flat in Terrania.

It wouldn't be the first time for her being quite confused about her whereabouts when waking up, and after some moments she decided she must be on some space ship. There was a quiet constant noise, that wouldn't be there in her own flat. But she could quite well enjoy the feeling of actually being at home and having a rare day off for some moments longer.

It was not a second later that a light presence in her mind made her suddenly realise that she was neither at home on Earth nor in some space ship of the Fleet; waking her up completely with a start. The slight tingling she was feeling in her head was the everlasting presence of the TARDIS.

And not only did she realise where she was, but also what had happened in the last hours.

 _Hours?_

She opened her eyes whilst turning around to have a look at the alarm clock next to her bed. The numbers on it told her nothing, because she had no idea when she had fallen asleep. It had been a weird sleep; full of even weirder dreams. But at least the excruciating headache was almost gone. It hadn't been that bad for years now and she was still slightly frightened by the intensity. It had gotten really, really bad after she had been sick, and everything she was remembering after that was somehow foggy. She couldn't quite separate what had actually happened and what she was only imagining.

 _Oh hell._

She finally got up, still feeling slightly shaky, and went to the bathroom. A shower would help her to sort her thoughts and figure out what of it she had been dreaming and what not.

Unfortunately, it didn't quite turn out as she had hoped. As she was standing under the hot water it dawned on her that more of the things she was remembering had happened, and almost none were dreams. She had been certain about the fight she had had with the Doctor – and that she had almost told him what she had done. Not that it really mattered – as she had said, it wasn't a secret.

Later, after she had dried her hair and put on some fresh clothes, she was standing in front of the mirror, tucking her hair into a knot on the back of her head. As she looked at herself she couldn't help but to think about the days they had been lost in the Andromeda Galaxy.

How young she had been back then, barely hundred and fifty years, but she still could remember it as if it had been yesterday. She lowered her head and closed her eyes, unable to stand her sight in the mirror, but it only brought up the images of the blazing inferno again, an inferno that had been her fault. Well, it hadn't been her doing alone, but she had played a leading role in the project. Together with Dr. Arno Kalup, an expert on the field of Hyperphysics. He had been brilliant, but he wouldn't have been able to achieve it on his own. Not in such a short amount of time, and neither wouldn't she herself. Of course, they hadn't meant to cause such devastation, and she had asked herself ever since how she could have been _that_ blind. Why hadn't she foreseen what would happen? How could she – they – have been so arrogant to believe they could play god? It had been right in front of their eyes, but still they – she – had believed she had all under control.

And yet – even though those days had been some of her darkest – it had all been for a reason. That didn't make it any less wrong, but everything had fallen into place. Who knew what would have happened if they hadn't done it. Just with Skaro, maybe it didn't justify her actions, but not doing it could have proven even worse. But still, it haunted her, rightfully so. Maybe that was the punishment for what she had done. She had tried to talk to Kalup a few times about that, but he had been stonewalling on that topic. She could feel that he himself had been far from being at peace with it, how it was eating him up, but still he had refused to talk about it, until the day he lost his life due to an act of sabotage.

Yet, she had carried on somehow, as she had done countless times after that. So no reason to give up just now, even though it all seemed so completely random to her with nothing at stake other than her personal fate, just a cruel coincidence with the potential to shatter her whole view of the world, everything she so desperately believed in.

But there was nothing more than keeping it together and carrying on, was there? Now, after she had had some sleep it seemed even possible doing so, at least for a little longer. Now all she needed was a coffee. And having a smoke. She war really craving for a cigarette now, although she doubted that she would find one here. Plus, she would never even dream of smoking inside the TARDIS, and hopping out for a smoke would be rather difficult in open space.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He had spent the last hours with tending to his ship and thinking about the last hours. Or, better said, the last days and weeks. At least he had made a serious effort to do so, but he was still far from acknowledging what was going on. Of course he already knew it, as he always knew almost everything. Every time he was missing things – which, obviously, happened quite rarely - he didn't actually _miss_ them, his mind was just occupied with other stuff. Or he simply didn't want to see them. But that on the other hand didn't mean that he never had some moments of clarity. Moments when he realised how lonely he really was, spending his times travelling. Of course, there were is companions, but they only stayed with him for such a short time. Apart from that, they weren't like him, not even remotely. They stayed with him for a while and then returned to their normal lives, finding someone equally normal to share it with, forgetting all about him. Well, at least that was what he was thinking, but Sarah had made it quite clear that she had never forgotten him. Which made it even worse in some way.

And then he had lost his homeworld, his people, his family, his friends, everyone. Not even Rose, despite pulling him out of his self-imposed isolation, could fill this hole. He had believed for a while she could, but it had only been wishful thinking. He couldn't give her what she had wanted, and neither could she. But, after all he had done, being alone was what he deserved, and he was fine with it. Fine as in: He had arranged himself with it.

It could have went on like that for ever, if it was for him, if he hadn't met _her_. With her strong urge for independence, always speaking her mind, trying to never give up – he was only hoping that clinging to her independence like that wouldn't be her downfall one day. No one could deal with everything on their own.

He couldn't even be mad at her for what she had tried to do on Skaro. It was wrong in so many ways, and he didn't agree with it, but he could understand her motivations. The Daleks really were a threat to all life in the universe, not only to his people but to humanity as well. And – he of all should now that – fighting in a war could really change one's perspectives. And who knew how many wars she had fought in her life. He doubted she would ever tell him what - as she had put it - had made it into every history book. Apart from that he still wasn't completely sure if she would really have destroyed Skaro.

Now he found her in the kitchen, looking up from her cup of coffee as he entered.

"Hi," she said and tried to crack a smile.

"Hi," he replied and sat down opposite of her. She looked quite back to normal, with her hair neatly tucked together, and instead of a black shirt she wore a light grey one which matched the colour of her eyes and made them shine even more. Only the slight black circles around her eyes and a fine line of sorrow between her eyebrows were giving away that maybe not everything was completely all right. But at least she was eating something, he thought, and took some fries out of the bowl on the table. The plate in front of her was still almost full, but well, at least she was trying.

For a moment they both remained silent whilst she was throwing a somehow evaluating glance at him, making him feeling slightly guilty. Had he gone too far with putting her to sleep like that? Well, she hadn't really protested, so...

"Thank you, I guess...," she finally said, her eyes fixed now on her coffee. "I mean, for staying with me and – you stayed with me for a while after I was sick, didn't you?" she asked and looked up again, now a puzzled expression on her face.

"Yeah... Yeah, I stayed for a bit...," he replied as innocent as possible, rubbing his neck. Maybe he was lucky and she didn't really remember what had happened. "Couldn't leave you on the bathroom floor, could I?" He tried a friendly smile and saw how she slightly blushed.

"Well, yeah. As said, thank you."

"Do you have often headaches like that?" he asked. Well, it had been the first time since she was here, and, being completely honest, he mostly didn't want the conversation to revolve around him, his previous regenerations, his age, and what the Beast had said.

"Nah, not really. Sometimes," she said casually and grabbed some fries.

For a moment they were eating in silence. It was an awkward, loaded silence, and he knew exactly what she would say next. He shouldn't be wrong.

"So," she began to speak again, "You said you would answer me some questions, respectively do some explaining."

"Did I? Really? Well, there's not-" He suddenly stopped as he saw the look in her eyes. "Well, maybe I did. I've already told you that- this process- And you've met my former self, so-"

"Yes, but- How much do you change? I mean, he- you clearly were a lot different. Not only because you were so much younger. Oh and, by the way - how old are you really? How often did that happen anyway? And, if you look so different on the outside, how does it affect the rest of you? Your personality, your memories, your-"

"Mira."

"Sorry," she said and looked down, whirling the coffee in her mug.

"You don't like it, do you?"

"What?" she looked up in confusion. " _Like it_? Like what? You changing completely in an attempt to escape death? I don't think it's about liking it or not. It's normal for your species, isn't it? It's just a part of who you are. And frankly, if I would have known about it I most likely would have recognised you. I just so didn't expect it. I'm just- I'm just trying to figure out how much you've changed. What of your former self is still here, and what not. Some of it obviously is still in you, because even though I might not feel your emotions as I do with other people, I still see more than meets the eye when I look at you. But some parts are d- uhm.. gone, replaced by something else."

Oh, did she even know how dead on she was right now? She was about to say _dead_ , not gone. Some parts of him did die indeed, every time he regenerated. He didn't particularly like that part, even though sometimes he was glad to be someone new, but this time he really dreaded the moment he would regenerate. It actually was like dying, in some way. Plus, he didn't have too many regenerations left. But there was no need to worry her with that.

"Well," he started, rubbing his face, then his neck before suddenly realising that she could probably read his gestures just as he could read hers. He put his hands down and continued, "I'm now sort of my tenth regeneration? When I was on Skaro with Romana, I was in my fourth regeneration, to answer your question. And yes, my memories stay intact, more or less. At least they're supposed to, but this whole process could be a bit... dodgy. Well, I _think_ I'm not missing any memories, but sometimes they get a bit shaken up for a few days."

He decided to spare her the stories of his various regenerations, not recognising people, falling asleep for hours or even days, forgetting how to pilot the TARDIS, and how he ribbed one of his scarves to use the yarn in an attempt to not getting lost inside the TARDIS after regenerating into his fifths regeneration.

"And you're right, I was different back then," he continued. "Basically, my personality traits are supposed to stay the same, but the balance of them can change..."

 _Quite dramatically._

"But well, as said, sometimes it can be a bit dodgy, and well- Anyway." He watched her closely, and she didn't seem to be particular happy.

"What?" he finally asked as he couldn't stand her being silent anymore.

She sighed and watched him for a few more moments. "I don't know. I'm just trying to imagine how it is to change in that way for ten times in about a thousand years," she finally said, before simply looking at him again. "Maybe I was hoping to find someone who was forced to live with himself and all his flaws and good and nasty personality traits for just as long as I am," she added after some moments, smiling slightly, obviously attempting a joke.

"And there I thought you don't like changes," he said and tried to smile as well. "Now you made staying the same sounding almost a little bit boring."

"It's not about liking changes or not. I just find it hard to deal with them, sometimes," she said, suddenly all serious again.

Okay, at least that was honest, he thought. Fair enough. At least she didn't seem to be afraid of the fact of him changing. So she wouldn't react like Rose did, because she hadn't recognised him any more. But there still was the fear growing in him that she wouldn't like him any more when he changed again.

"Well then, I'll try not to 'die' then," he said, being afraid that it actually sounded less light hearted as he wanted it to. "Oh and, by the way, the TARDIS has picked up some plasma coils around Royal Hope Hospital. I think we should go investigating, what'd you say?"

* * *

 _10th Squad 3rd Seat, NeoMulder, bored411: Thanks for reviewing :-)_


	57. Chapter 57 - Smith and Jones Pt 1

**Chapter LVII**

 _Martha's POV_

It was a day as normal as it could be, and not so long ago she wouldn't have given a thought about it. But since the events around Canary Wharf with the Cybermen and the Daleks she really appreciated those days in all their beautiful, boring normality.

Even the announcer in the radio seemed to be of the same opinion. "What can happen on an average beautiful day, you never know. Celebrate seasonal changes...On a beautiful sunny day."

She had to smile as she continued her way down Chancery Street to the hospital, just as her phone rang. It was her sister, Trish.

"You're up early! What's happening?" she said, even though she could easily guess what was going on.

"It's a nightmare, because Dad won't listen, and I'm telling you, Mum is going mental. Swear to God, Martha, this is _epic_. You've got to get in there and stop him," Trish confirmed her suspicion. Oh well, she really loved her family, but why was it always her to get caught in the middle and to sort things out?

"How do I do that?" she replied with a smile – it wasn't _that_ bad after all. Just the normal, every day madness.

"Tell Dad he can't bring her!" Trish said, just as her phone rang again.

"Hold on, that's Leo. I'll call you back."

"Martha, If Mum and Dad start to kick off, tell them I don't even want a party," Leo, her brother, said without greeting her. "I didn't even ask for one. They can always give me the money instead."

"Yeah, but why do I have to tell them? Why can't you?" she asked him, just as her pone rang. _Again_. They must have planned that, mustn't they?

"Hold on, that's Mum. I'll call you back," she said to her brother.

"I don't mind your father making a fool of himself in private," her mother started talking as soon as she had her on the line, "But this is Leo's 21st, everyone is going to be there, and the entire family is going to look ridiculous."

"Mum, it's a party, I can't stop Dad from bringing his girlfriend," she replied, still walking down the street. Now her pone rang for the fourth time.

 _Seriously?_

"Hold on, that's Dad, I'll call you back."

"Martha?" her father said, sounding as if being outside as well. "Now, tell your mother, Leo is my son, and I'm paying for half that party. I'm entitled to bring who I like."

"I know, but think what it's going to look like for Mum, if you're standing there with Annalise," she said, knowing that nothing in the world would stop her father from bringing his girlfriend.

"What's wrong with Annalise?" he asked.

"Is that Martha? Say hi. Hi, Martha, hi!" she could hear Annaliese's voice through her phone.

" Hi, Annalise," she replied with mocked friendliness.

"Big kiss, lots of love, see you at the party, Babe," Annalise replied.

Martha just sighed and closed her phone as a man stepped right in front of her. But instead of stepping aside, he just looked at her in a weird, intensive way, saying, "Like so!" Next he put of his tie. "See?" And off he went.

She frowned, being slightly puzzled, but then continued on her way to the Royal Hope Hospital. Sometimes one could meet really weird people on the streets, and he seemed to be one of the nicer – and harmless – kind.

It seemed she reached the hospital just in time as a thunder tore the air. She had no intention of getting wet.

Suddenly, she felt being pushed aside and almost stumbled. As she turned her head she saw a figure all dressed in black leather with a helmet.

"Hey! Watch, it mate!" she said, but the figure made no attempt to apologise. He only turned around for a moment and looked at her before entering the hospital. Well, at least she assumed he looked at her, for she couldn't see his eyes.

 _Fine, then don't._

She hesitated for a moment – the day that had begun so nicely turned out to be quite weird – then entered the hospital herself.

At her locker she changed into her lab coat. When she was finished and about to close the door, she got an electrical shock as she touched the door, causing her to pull her hand away. As she touched it again, more reluctant this time, nothing happened.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He had admitted himself yesterday into the hospital as a patient, despite Mira's protests. At worst he would seriously puzzle some nurses or doctors, but there was no real danger for him. What should happen anyway? Humanity had begun to become aware of the existence of alien life, so one more alien in one of their hospitals wouldn't make it any worse. Apart from that, his TARDIS wasn't that far away, just outside of the hospital.

Then she had started to talk about Torchwood, and somehow him replying that she should just live a little hadn't come across that well - judging from the look she had given him. She had even offered to have herself admitted, but he could see that she clearly didn't like that idea, so he had declined. Plus, she hadn't gotten tired of stating how much she hated hospitals.

Now she was playing the role of an official again, but this time from the NHS, doing an assessment of performance and efficiency. How the taxpayers money was spent, things like that.

She had talked to him last night, just when none of the nurses was present, told him that she had sensed an alien presence in here, but she hadn't been able to locate who it was. Just too many people in here, between hope and total despair, suffering, frightened, some even dying, and all of them in a highly emotional state, making him suddenly see why she hated hospitals that much.

Now he was here, lying in bed, wearing pyjamas, trying not think about the last time he had worn pyjamas, as a bunch of students and their professor approached.

"Now then, Mr Smith, a very good morning to you. How are you today?" the professor said. Or was he just a doctor? No way to tell that now.

"Aw, not so bad, still a bit, you know. Blah," he said and stuck out his tongue.

"John Smith, admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains. Jones, why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me," he said to a young woman of colour.

She approached him and took the stethoscope that was hanging around her neck.

"That wasn't very clever, running around outside, was it?" she said.

"Sorry?" he replied. He really had no idea what she was talking about. He hadn't been running around.

"On Chancery Street this morning. You came up to me and took your tie off," she said.

"Really? What did I do that for?"

"I don't know, you just did."

"Not me. I was here, in bed. Ask the nurses," replied, whilst thinking about when this would be about to happen. In his future obviously, if she really had seen _him_.

"Well, that's weird, cause it looked like you. Have you got a brother?"

"No, not any more. Just me."

"As time passes and I grow ever more infirm and weary, Miss Jones," her professor finally interrupted them. Had no one ever told him about the importance of patient – doctor conversations?

"Sorry. Right," the young woman called Jones said and put her stethoscope to his chest, listened, then looked at him, completely puzzled. Didn't keep her from moving the stethoscope over to his other heart, confusing her even more.

He winked at her, glad that she didn't start to panic.

"I weep for further generations. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?" the professor said.

She shot him another puzzled glance, and then replied, "Um. I don't know. Stomach cramps?" without mentioning what she had just discovered. Well, maybe she was afraid of the others thinking she was just crazy. Humans had a tendency to react in that way when one of them discovered something unexplainable.

"That is a symptom, not a diagnosis. And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart," the professor said and picked up the chart, only to drop it again immediately – after receiving an electric shock. .

"That happened to me this morning," Jones said.

"I had the same thing on the door handle," another student said, followed by another member of the group, "And me, on the lift."

Well, could be quite normal. If he hadn't detected those abnormal readings above the hospital.

"That's only to be expected. There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by – anyone?" the professor said.

Silence. Oh well, didn't they teach physics any more at university?

"Benjamin Franklin," he finally said with a wide grin.

"Correct!" the professor said, seemingly pleased.

"My mate Ben, that was a day and a half. I got rope burns off that kite, and then I got soaked...," he continued.

"Quite...," the professor started, but he wasn't done yet.

" ... and then I got electrocuted," he finished his sentence, and smiled even wider at the memories of those days.

"Moving on," the professor said and went away, after giving him a last, sizing look, the group following him.

"I think perhaps a visit from psychiatric," he could here him saying, even though he was speaking rather quietly.

The young student who had just discovered his two hearts turned around once more as she walked away, and he smiled at her.

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

Later, as they had completed their round through the hospital, she was in the kitchenette with her fellow student Swales. She was thinking about this strange man the whole morning, and about his weird heartbeat. He should be dead, and yet he had smiled at her in a way that had her own heart skip a beat or two. Apart from that, she was pretty dammed sure that it had been him earlier in Chancery Street.

But now was not the time to think about it, as her sister was calling her again.

"No, listen, I've worked out a plan. We tell Annalise that the buffet tonight is one hundred per cent carbohydrate, and she won't turn up," she said to her sister.

"I wish you'd take this seriously. That's our inheritance she's spending. On fake tan. Tell you what, I'm not that far away, I'll drop by for a sandwich and we can draw up a plan," Trish responded.

Well, true, she wasn't too serious about the carbs, but it might work, knowing how superficial Annalise was.

"In this weather?" she replied and looked out of the window. It was pouring. "I'm not going out, it's pouring down."

"It's not raining here," Trish replied, and then, after a moment of silence, she added, "That's weird. It's sitting right on top of you, I can see it, but it's dry where I am."

"Well, you just got lucky."

"No, but it's like in cartoons, you know, when a man's got a cloud over his head."

"But listen, I tell you what we'll do," she replied, ignoring her sister. It was rain, nothing else. So what? Right at this moment she saw Mr Smith walking by the room in a dressing gown, throwing her a short glance.

 _What the hell?_

"We tell Dad and Annalise to get there early, for about 7:30, for Leo to do his birthday stuff," she continued, slightly distracted now. "We tell Mum to come about 8:30 or nine, and that gives me time to have a word with Annalise, and-"

Swales touched her arm, looking past her, to the window.

"What?" she asked her fellow student, the phone still at her ear.

"The rain."

"It's only rain," she said, slightly annoyed now.

"Martha! Have you seen the rain?" her sister asked now as well.

"Why's everyone fussing about rain?" she said, still looking at Swale, and not out of the window.

"It's going up," Swale replied, and not a second later her sister said the same thing over the phone.

She finally turned around to the window and then she saw it herself. Indeed, the rain was going _up_. Before she could think about an explanation the whole building started to shake, throwing her and Swale to the ground. The cupboard doors flew open and the content, as most things on the counter as well, went flying through the room. It only lasted for a few moments, and as everything was silent again, she got up.

"What in hell was that?"

"Are you all right?" Swale asked.

"I think so, yeah. It felt like an earthquake, or -"

"Martha? It's night. It was lunchtime."

"It's not night."

"It's got to be. It's dark."

She turned around to the window again, and indeed, it was dark. But that was by far not the strangest thing right now.

"We're on the moon," she said almost breathless.

"We can't be."

"We're on the moon. We're on the bloody moon," she repeated herself. She had no idea how, but that was definitely moon, with the earth hanging above as a blue and white globe them in the black space.

 **…**

She hurried through the corridors, trying to calm down the people who were crying and screaming in panic. For a moment she wondered why she was staying rather calm, but it must have something to do with Adrenaline, she thought to herself. One could never know beforehand how one would react in a situation like that.

Finally she reached the ward where Mr Smith had been. Right now, she had no eyes for any of the patients, instead she hurried to the window, Swales still on her heels.

"It's real. It's really real," she repeated, as she looked out and over the silvery surface of the moon. It was totally like the pictures taken by the Apollo-Crews. "Hold on!" she said and reached for the window-latch.

"Don't!", Swales said between too sobs, "We'll lose all the air!"

"But they're not exactly air tight. If the air was going to get sucked out it would have happened straight away, but it didn't. So how come?"

"Very good point!" she suddenly heard a voice behind her. She turned and saw Mr Smith, now dressed in a blue pinstripe suit. "Brilliant, in fact. What was your name?"

"Martha," she said and couldn't help but smile at him.

"And it was Jones, wasn't it?"

She just nodded, still grinning.

"Well then, Martha Jones, the question is, how are we still breathing?"

"We can't be!" Swales cried.

"Obviously we are so don't waste my time," he said, not unfriendly but clearly slightly annoyed. "Martha, what have we got? Is there a balcony on this floor, or a veranda, or...? Oh, and by the way, have you seen my companion? Skinny, pale, long hair, grey eyes?"

"Companion? Uhm.. No, don't think so," she murmured. Companion? How did he mean that? Long hair somehow sounded female, didn't it? "And there's a balcony by the patients lounge...," she added.

"Fancy going out?" he asked with a smile that made her forgot that he just had asked after his partner/companion/whatever he or she was to him.

"Okay."

"We might die," he said and looked at her intently.

"We might not."

"Good! C'mon. Not her, she'd hold us up," he said and nodded over to Swales, who was still sobbing.

 **...**

A few minutes later they reached the patient's lounge. He pushed open the doors without hesitation and for a second she feared she had been wrong, he had been wrong – and they would just suffocate. But nothing happened, instead she heard a voice from the right.

"There you are!"

She turned her head and saw a woman leaning against the wall next to the door, her arms crossed and her head turned to Mr Smith now. She was skinny indeed, pale, but she couldn't see how long her hair was because she was wearing some funny sixties revival hairdo. Okay, it actually suited her, but it was just not really common these days.

"I was looking for you," Smith said, and then turned to her, "I asked you, didn't I?"

She just nodded and watched how he gave the woman a bone crushing hug.

"We're on the moon!" he said to her as they had separated. "We and the whole building!"

"I know," she replied and smiled for a moment as well.

Martha couldn't tell for the live of her how old the other woman was, but she guessed only a few years older than herself.

"So," Smith said and turned around to her again, "Martha, that's Mira. Mira, Martha. We- We're travelling together."

She took the hand Mira was holding out and smiled at her. She smiled back. Travelling together? So that was his 'companion'? At the same time she reminded herself that that was probably not the right time to speculate about his relationship status.

"We've got air!" she eventually said after letting go of Mira's hand. "How does that work?" She really had no idea.

"Just be glad it does," Smith said.

"Forcefield," Mira added, picked up a small stone and threw it over the balcony. It collided with some sort of invisible barrier, sending waves of energy across it.

"Good," Smith smiled at her.

She only pulled up one brow. "How do you think we've secured our hangar doors?"

Hangar doors? Where on earth existed hangar doors with forcefields, Martha thought quiet confused.

For the next moments they just stood next to each other and watched at Earth floating above their heads.

"I've got a party tonight. It's my brother's twenty-first. My mother's going to be really ... really..," she finally said, not really knowing why she brought it up right now. Maybe it was the sight of her homeworld, being that far away from it what made her quiet sentimental.

"You okay?" Smith said and gave her a compassionate look.

"Yeah."

"Sure?" Now it was Mira asking. She stood on her other side and was looking at her from the side. "It can be quite... awkward seeing Earth like that for the first time."

Martha turned her had and looked her straight in the eyes. Eyes that somehow didn't seem to belong to her rather young looking face.

"Yeah, it's awkward, you're right. But I'm fine," she said and looked back at Earth again.

"Want to go back in?" Smith asked.

"No way. I mean, we could die any minute, and yes, it's just plan awkward, but all the same - it's beautiful."

"You think?" he asked.

"How many people want to go to the moon? And here we are!"

"Standing in the earthlight," he said softly.

"What do you think happened?" she asked both of them.

"What do you think?" Smith returned the question.

"Extraterrestrial. It's got to be. I don't know, a few years ago that would have sounded man, but these days? That spaceship flying into Big Ben - Christmas - those Cybermen things. I had a cousin. Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf. She never came home," she said.

"I- We are sorry," Smith said.

"Yeah."

"We were there. In the battle."

"Yeah, and we all lost a lot of people, one way or another," Mira said absent mindedly, and Martha wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

"I promise you, Mr Smith, Mira, we will find a way out. If we can travel to the moon, then we can travel back. There's got to be a way."

"It's not Smith, that's not my real name."

"Who are you, then?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"Me too, if I can pass my exams. What is it, then, Doctor Smith?"

"Just the Doctor."

"How do you mean, just the Doctor?"

"Just... the Doctor."

She turned to Mira for a moment and saw that she was desperately trying to suppress a laughter. "You'll get used to it," Mira said eventually but then hurried to turn her head away again, pretending to look at Earth.

"What, people call you 'the Doctor'?" she turned to Smith again.

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm not. As far as I'm concerned, you've got to earn that title."

For a moment he looked quite sad, then he just dropped the topic. "Well, I'd better make a start, then," he said. " It seems we only have the air within the forcefield. How many people in this hospital?"

"I don't know, a thousand?"

"One thousand people. Suffocating," he said quietly, hardly suppressed anger in his voice.

"Why would anyone do that?"

"Head's up! Ask them yourself," he said.

She looked up and saw three gigantic ships landing. They looked like cylinders, and once they were on the surface, masses of creatures were leaving them, marching in line, just like some sort of army.

"Aliens. That's aliens. Real, proper aliens," she breathed.

"Judoon," Smith said with a dark tone in his voice.

* * *

 _Ronin Kenshin, NeoMulder, Julia N SnowMiko, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, bored411, Wicken25, oXxgeorgiaxXo: Thank you for reviewing :-)_


	58. Chapter 58 - Smith and Jones Pt 2

**Chapter LVIII**

 _Mira's POV_

They hurried to the reception where the Judoon were about to enter the hospital. The Doctor was at her side, Martha was following them. She had no idea where he had met Martha, but she seemed reasonable enough, which was a pleasant change to all the hysteric people in the hospital. Maybe it was because of her being a medical student; she simply couldn't afford to freak out at every opportunity. But, on the other hand, being transported to the moon with an ongoing alien invasion would be enough of an excuse for Martha to freak out at least a little bit.

As they arrived at the mezzanine level just above the reception area they hid behind some potted plants and watched the Judoon marching into the hospital. Obviously the force field could be penetrated, but maybe only in one direction – for now – or the Judoon possessed some devices allowing them to generate gaps in the field.

"Oh, look down there, you've got a little shop. I like a little shop," the Doctor said, somehow lacking sense for the seriousness of the situation.

"Never mind that," Martha said, seemingly of one opinion with her. "What are Judoon?"

"Galactic police. Well, police for hire. More like interplanetary thugs," the Doctor replied.

"And what do they want with a hospital on the moon?" she asked as Martha remained silent, but then their attention got caught by what happened next.

One of the Judoon, probably their leader, had removed his helmet.

 _Rhinos. Seriously?_

Their enormous heads were somehow mismatched in comparison to their small bodies. Now he was shouting something, but she couldn't understand it.

"Bo sco fo do no kro blo co sho ro!"

"Why can't we-" she said, but then she realised it. "Shit. The TARDIS is still on Earth."

"Yupp," the Doctor simply said.

One of the hospital staff, maybe a doctor or another student, walked forward, ready to face the Judoon, just crossing the fine line between braveness and stupidity.

"Idiot!" she whispered, and was about to get up herself. He had no experience in first contact with alien species – of course, how could he. The Judoon didn't really seem hostile – she could clearly sense their emotions – but rather determined. Determined in a dangerous, ruthless way. But before she could get up, she felt the Doctor's hand on her wrist.

"He'll get himself killed!" she said, turning her head to him. He just shook his head and didn't let go of her.

"We are citizens of planet earth. We welcome you in peace," the guy said, his voice trembling, but apart from that he hold himself together quite well. At least until the commanding Judoon approached him, pushed him against a wall and held some sort of device in his face.

"Please don't hurt me," he stammered now, fear and beginning panic in his voice. "I was just trying to help, I'm sorry, don't hurt me, please don't hurt me."

But at least for now he seemed to be safe as the Judoon simply played his words back on the little device he was holding. Seemed to be some sort of translator. Finally, he stuck it in a slot on his space suit

"Language assimilated. Designation Earth English. You will be catalogued," the Judoon announced, then shone a blue light in his face. After that, he marked him with a black cross on the back of his hand. She could swear she did hear the squeaking from the pen he was using.

"Category: human. Catalogue all suspects," the Judoon continued, and his men (Or women? Both?) swarmed out, doing exactly that.

"So, why did they bring us to the moon?" Martha asked, repeating Mira's earlier question.

"Neutral territory," the Doctor replied. "According to galactic law, they've got no jurisdiction over the Earth, and they isolated us. That rain? Lightning? That was them, using an H2O scoop."

"So, they have no jurisdiction over Earth, but bringing us to the moon is okay?" Mira said. "What sort of shitty law is that? They don't have any jurisdiction over _humanity_ , I might say. Someone really should tell them that."

"Like you did in your universe?" the Doctor asked and looked at her.

"Actually, it wasn't me but my father. But yes, we did tell that _some_ organisations and species over time. Of course, we also have – had - some sort of galactic police, but they wouldn't have acted like that. Well, most of the time at least. Not without a very good reason," she replied without taking her eyes from the Judoon.

"'Galactic law'? Where'd you get that from anyway?" Martha fell in. "If they're police, are we under arrest? Are we trespassing on the moon or something?"

"No. But I like that," the Doctor replied, not going further into the political conditions in her universe. "Good thinking. No, it's more simple. They're making a catalogue, it means they're after something non-human, which is very bad news for me,"

"Indeed," she said, and really hoped they weren't looking for him. Maybe he hadn't done anything yet, even though there was a good change he had violated some laws in his lifetime, as far as she knew him. But he could do something at some point, in his future and Earth's past.

"Why?" Martha asked, and as Mira turned her head she could see the Doctor looking at Martha, instead of answering."Oh, you're kidding me," Martha said after a few seconds, the Doctor still only looked at her. "Don't be ridiculous. Stop looking at me like that," Martha finally said, completely irritated.

"Did I miss something?" She asked. Had the Doctor already told Martha who he was?

"Uhm, no. Not really," he said and got up. "Come on, then."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He had found a computer in an office, hoping it would provide him with some answers. Martha was standing behind him as he examined the computer with his sonic, and just now Mira came back.

"They've reached the third floor," she said.

He just nodded and continued with his task.

"What's that thing?" Martha asked behind his back.

"Sonic screwdriver," he said without turning around.

"Well, if you're not going to answer me properly!"

"No, really, it is," he repeated, now turning around to face her. Why were humans always assuming he was mocking them? Well, sometimes he did, but not _that_ often. "It's a screwdriver, and it's sonic. Look." He held it up and showed it to her.

"What else have you got? A laser spanner?" Martha wanted to know.

"I did," he replied, no focused at his work again. "But it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst, cheeky woman. Oh, this computer!" he suddenly yelled and hit the screen. He hardly realised that he had made both Martha and Mira jump. Stupid, faulty, slow piece of technology. _Thick_. It was so incredibly _thick_. How could they work with these incredibly annoying things? And they were so easy to manipulate. "The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon." He ruffled his hair. "Cause we were just travelling past, I swear, we were just wandering, we weren't looking for trouble, honestly, we weren't. It should've been some distraction, nothing more, nice and easy, and I noticed these plasma coils around the hospital, and that lightning, that's plasma coils, been building up for two days now, so I checked in, Mira went as an official, she's really good at that, I thought something was going on inside, it turns out the plasma coils were the Judoon up above," he said, mostly because mumbling things like that helped him to think. Sometimes at least.

"But what were they looking for?" Martha asked.

"Something that looks human, but isn't."

"Like you. Apparently."

"Like me. But not me."

"Sure?" Mira asked.

"Yeah, sure!" he said. "Well, almost. Nah, no way they're looking for me. Not here. Maybe I've done a few things- well, or am about to do, but- no." What would the Judoon want with him? He had made himself some enemies, but non of them would send the Judoon after him. That would be beneath their dignity.

"And-" Martha started to speak but then paused for a moment, as if bracing herself. "You are an alien as well?" she finally asked, looking at Mira.

"Nah. Human. Earth-born human," she replied. "And, as they're scanning everyone in here, they have no idea for whom they're looking for?"

"Basically, yes. Might be a shape-changer," he replied.

"Whatever it is, can't you just leave the Judoon to find it?" Martha asked.

"If they declare the hospital guilty of harbouring a fugitive, they'll sentence it to execution," he said.

"Great. Their logic isn't the most complex one ever, is it? And there you'd think that there would fit a lot of brain in their big heads, helping them to realise we might not harbour anyone, and instead, whoever they seek, is just hiding here," Mira said so sarcastically that he had to smile.

"They'd execute all of us?" Martha asked in disbelieve.

"Oh yes," he said. "If I can find this thing first... Oh!" he yelled, as finally the computer screen was showing something. Files. Empty files. "Just that they're thick! Judoon are thick! They are completely thick! They wiped the records. Oh, that's clever," he murmured, ruffling his hair again.

"What are we looking for?" Martha asked.

"I don't know. Any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms. Maybe there's a back-up."

"Just keep working. I'll go ask Mr Stoker, he might know," she said and left the room again.

He looked after her for a second, then met Mira's eyes. For a moment he tried to read the expression he saw in them, but he couldn't make anything out of it, so he turned back to the computer screen. What was going on with her now? Did she not like Martha? She was nice, clever - and so completely different than Rose. And they could use someone who was familiar with the hospital.

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

She ran down the hall and knocked on the door to Mr Stoker's office. She didn't wait for an answer but just entered – he would certainly forgive her for that.

"Mr Stoker!" she said just as she saw the two guys dressed in helmets and black leather she had seen in the hospital earlier. And there was something else – Mr Stoker's feet sticking out around the desk. An old woman got up from crouching over him, a straw in her hand.

It took her hardly a second to comprehend and realise _how_ wrong this whole picture was. Without hesitating she turned around and ran out of the office.

She was about to run back to the office where she had left the Doctor and Mira – she still wasn't convinced that the other woman was human, neither that he was an alien – but they caught up with her halfway.

"I've restored the back-up," the Doctor said.

"I found her," she said, knowing they wouldn't need that backup now.

"You what?" he asked, but then saw something over her shoulder. She turned around and saw the guy in black as well.

"Run!" she heard him saying.

He didn't need to tell her twice, but he took her hand as if to make sure she was really following. And she couldn't help herself, even though it was quite inappropriate at this moment, to feel a shiver down her spine. Alien or not, he was quite handsome with his ruffled hair and that incredibly intense, dark eyes.

They ran down a staircase and by know he had let go of her hand. The weird guy was still following them and if that wouldn't have been enough, they now heard the Judoon coming up the stairs. The Doctor emerged through a door at the fourth floor, followed by Mira who turned around and waved at her, obviously to make sure she was following.

She followed them along the corridor, the guy still on their heels, around corners and finally into the radiology room. The Doctor locked the door behind her, but she had her doubts that a locked door would stop them.

"When I say 'now', press the button," the Doctor said, and she wasn't quite sure if he meant her or Mira.

"I don't know which one," she said and watched as he used his weird screwdriver-thingy on the x-ray-machinery.

"Find out!" he said without looking. "Or ask Mira, she'll know."

She looked over to Mira who was already standing behind the glass wall, studying the controls. In lack of any better ideas she went for the Operator's Manual, but before she even reached the right pages, she heard the Doctor say, "Now!"

 _Now_ she actually was on the edge of panicking, frantically looking over the controls until she saw the big, red button. There was no time left, as the helmet-guy had already entered the room, so she reached for it; only to hit not the button but Mira's hand. She had also gone for it, what was somehow reassuring. She met her eyes for a second, then both of them looked through the glass that was separating the room at the Doctor. For a moment she was blinded by a flash of light, then the helmet-guy fell to the floor, face first.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"Increased the radiation by five thousand per cent. Killed him dead," the Doctor replied.

"Isn't that likely to kill you?" she replied. It obviously killed him on the spot, but she didn't doubt he would die over the next hours.

"Nah, it's only radiation. We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery," he replied casually. "It's safe for you to come out, I've absorbed it all. All I need to do is expel it," he continued and started to bounce and hop around the room. "If I concentrate I can shake the radiation out of my body and into one spot. It's in my left shoe. Here we go, here we go, easy does it..." Now he was shaking his foot.

She looked over to Mira, who was standing next to the door, watching him with crossed arms. Her confusion must have shown right on her face.

"Don't wonder. Just don't," Mira said, as casually as he had sounded. "First, you'll never know when he means something and when not. Although, this time I think he really means it. Second: Never ever think there's nothing left he can surprise you with. Oh, and third: Aliens actually are somehow unpredictable for us humans. No matter how human they appear on the outside."

 _What?!_

Okay, there had been the Daleks and the space ship hitting Big Ben, but she was talking as if she was dealing with aliens on a day-to-day basis.

"Out, out, out, out, out. Out, out, ah, ah, ah, ah. It is, it is, it is, it is, it is hot. Ah - hold on," she heard him, still jumping and shaking his food. He put of his shoe and threw it in the dustbin, as if it was something alive and about to bite him. "Done," he said and smiled at her.

"You're completely mad," was all she could say. He, and probably Mira as well.

"Right. I look daft with one shoe," he replied, put off the other one and discarded it as well. "Barefoot on the moon!" he said and clapped his teeth together.

She looked down at his feet. Somehow she had almost expected them to be green, or with webbing between the toes, a sixth toe or something like that, but it were normal, human looking feet.

"So what is that thing?" she finally said and went over to the helmet-guy, merely to draw her mind away from the man calling himself the Doctor. "And where's it from? The planet Zovirax?"

"It's just a Slab. They're called 'Slabs'. Basic slave drones, see?" he replied as he knelt opposite of her. She shortly turned her head only to see Mira still standing next to the door as if guarding it. "Solid leather, all the way through. Someone has got one hell of a fetish."

"It came with that woman, Mrs. Finnegan. It was working for her. Just like a servant," she said and looked after the Doctor, who had gotten up and took the remains of his screwdriver out of the x-ray machine.

"My sonic screwdriver," he said and looked at it sadly.

"She was one of the patients, but-"

"My sonic screwdriver!" he repeated.

"She had a straw like some kind of vampire," she continued, hoping that he would listen.

"I loved my sonic screwdriver!"

"Doctor!" she yelled, losing her patience.

"Sorry," he said, spun around to her, tossed the screwdriver away and finally smiled at her. "You called me 'Doctor'."

"Anyway! Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mr. Stoker's blood."

"Funny time to take a snack. You'd think she'd be hiding. Unless - no. Yes, that's it, wait a minute," he said, and then continued, making her jump, "Yes! Shape-changer. Internal shape-changer. She wasn't drinking blood, she was assimilating it." He started to dart through the room. "If she can assimilate Mr Stoker's blood, mimic the morphology, she can register as human. We've got to find her and show the Judoon. Come on!"

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

They were hiding behind a water cooler, watching the second Slab walking past them.

"That's the thing about Slabs. They always travel in pairs," the Doctor said.

"Not only they," Martha said.

"Who else?" the Doctor asked.

She only shook her head. Wasn't it obvious what Martha was meaning? She had very well noticed Martha's feelings and emotions towards the Doctor. Well, at least she assumed Martha had a crush on the the Doctor, not on her.

"The two of you? You said you're companions. Or are there more of you? Some sort of back-up?" She watched how the Doctor slowly turned his head to Martha. "Uh. Humans. We're stuck on the moon running out of air with Judoon and a bloodsucking criminal, you're asking personal questions. Come on."

"I like that. "Humans." I'm still not convinced you're an alien," Martha murmured as they all got up, just as a Judoon walked up on them, about to scan the Doctor.

It only took her a second to realise what was about to happen before she shoved the Doctor aside, placing herself in front of the Judoon with his scanner. But something went wrong. This time, the scanner produced a different, nasty tone, making her teeth ache.

The expression on the Judoon's face changed into something not so nice and his ears twisted as he announced, "Non-human."

"What!?" That was all she could say as she stared at the Judoon in shock. That bloody scanner must be broken.

"You're the alien?" she heard Martha say.

She was still staring at the Judoon, frozen to the spot, as the Doctor pulled her away with him.

"And again!" he said.

 **…**

"He was wrong! His bloody scanner is broken. Non-human? What a crap!" she said as she was running up some stairs behind the Doctor. She actually had no explanation for that. Maybe there was a difference between the humans here and her? Maybe it was her cell-activator, maybe it was something else. She had no idea.

They reached another floor, locking the door to the staircase behind them.

"They've done this floor," the Doctor said. "Come on. The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already. If we're lucky."

"Only a little bit thick?" she murmured as they were walking through the corridor. People were sitting around, and now she noticed how used up the air had gotten.

"How much oxygen is there?" Martha asked some woman who was sitting next to a patient on the floor.

"Not enough for all these people. We're going to run out."

"How are you feeling? Are you all right?" the Doctor asked, and even though he had probably meant them both, she didn't reply.

"I'm running on adrenaline," Martha said and smiled at him.

"Welcome to my world," he replied.

"What about the Judoon?"

"Ah, great big lung reserves, it won't slow them down. Where's Mr Stoker's office?"

"It's this way."

After a short walk they reached the office. Mr Stoker was lying on the floor, all colour gone from his face.

"She's gone! She was here," Martha said, and then fell silent as she spotted Mr Stoker as well.

"Drained him dry," the Doctor said, crouching next to the corpse. "Every last drop. I was right. She's a plasmavore."

"What was she doing on Earth?" Martha asked.

"Hiding. On the run. Like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro. What's she doing now? She's still not safe. The Judoon could execute us all. Come on."

"Execute us all? You're serious about that? That's no galactic police, they're mad. Someone should stop them. They're even worse than Torchwood," she said.

"Stop them? How?" the Doctor asked.

"Don't know. I'll think about something."

The Doctor didn't reply, just went for the door.

"Wait a minute," Martha said. She went over to Mr Stoker and closed his eyes.

 **...**

Not much later they were walking down another hospital corridor.

"Think, think, think. If I was a plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do?" the Doctor murmured, then his eyes locked on something.

She followed his glance to the MRI sign.

"Aah. She's as clever as me. Almost," he said.

"Find the non-human. Execute," she heard the voice of a Judoon, realising they were still meaning her. Great. She had only wanted to hide the Doctor's non-human identity.

"Stay here," the Doctor said to Martha, "We need time. You're going to have to hold them up."

"How do I do that?" she heard Martha asked. She had turned her back to them, watching out for the Judoon.

"Martha, forgive me for this. It's to save a thousand lives, it means nothing. Honestly, nothing," he said.

What was he up to now? Not a second later, as it was suspiciously quiet behind her back, her head flung around and she could hardly believe her eyes. He was kissing her. Not just lips on lips as they had kissed, but a real, proper kiss.

 _What the hell?What was he doing that for?_

Before she could say something, he stepped away from Martha and ran off, pulling her with him.

* * *

 _bored411, casongallifrey, moonlightprincess99, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, NeoMulder, oXxgeorgiaxXo, heroherondaletotherescue_ : Thanks for reviewing :-)

And everyone else for reading, liking and following :-)


	59. Chapter 59 - Smith and Jones Pt 3

**Chapter LIX**

 _Mira's POV_

Finally they stopped in another empty corridor.

"What did you do that for?" she asked as he let go of her hand and turned around to her.

"What?" he asked, giving her a somehow dumbfounded look.

"What? Seriously? Kissing her and..." Just now she realised how jealous she must sound. Was she actually jealous? "And leaving her behind with the Judoon," she quickly finished the sentence.

Seeing him kissing Martha did sting; more than it should. They were friends after all, nothing more. There _couldn't_ be more, despite of her own growing feelings for him; feelings she was trying to hide so desperately. It just couldn't be. Never. And now he had kissed another woman in front of her eyes, and she was feeling as if getting slapped right in the face.

She could indeed feel a growing jealousy gnawing at her, something that didn't happen too often. Not that she had never been jealous in her life before, but most of the time there was just no reason for her. She _knew_ if someone was in love with her, no matter how they were acting. There was simply no room for guessing and insecurity for her. And over the course of her long life her understanding of love had changed as well. It was totally possible to love someone and kiss someone else. Even to have some sort of crush at someone else, but it was just that: A crush. Nothing more, nothing that could destroy or replace true love; love that had grown over years.

But now, probably for the first time ever, she had no idea what was going on. Did he feel something for her? Or for Martha? Not that it should matter anyway. Hadn't it been _her_ stating that the kiss in the Olympic stadium didn't mean anything? And it was her telling herself all the time that there was and could never bee anything?

And now here she was, incredibly annoyed - not only with herself but also with him. What the hell was he thinking? It was then when she vaguely remembered what she had told Martha not so long ago. About predicting alien behaviour.

"Uhm- That was- well, I had to stop the Judoon somehow. And Martha with traces of alien DNA on her should keep them occupied for a while. Why?" he said, leaving her stunned for a moment.

And, how in hell could anyone make a simple 'Why?' sound so completely innocent?

 _Traces of alien DNA? Great._

"Oh, and you really think it's a good idea to leave her behind like that?" she hissed at him, channelling her anger into something that sounded somehow sensible, at least to her ears.

"She didn't do anything, so they won't harm her. Their scanners should figure out that she's human."

"Oh, just as they classified me as human?"

"You're from another universe," he said, but she got the feeling there was more he wasn't telling her.

"You said I'm human, so why-"

"Not now Mira, please," he interrupted her. "Say, how good are you in first-aid and resuscitation?"

"What?!"

"Mira..."

"Good. Of course I'm good at that, but why?"

"See you later. Just stay away from the Judoon," he said instead of giving her an answer.

After a last hug and an attempt to kiss her on the forehead – she turned her head to the side just in time, should he leave his alien DNA traces to himself – he ran off; not before giving her one last sad and somehow confused look.

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

"That was nothing?" she whispered and stared after the man who had just kissed her. She was still trying to sort everything out – the indefinable, foreign and yet good taste of his soft lips; lips that had felt strangely cold, but not unpleasantly so.

At least one of her questions was now answered – Mira and him most likely weren't a couple. Otherwise he wouldn't have kissed her right in front of Mira's eyes. But why had he kissed her at all?

Anyway. She had to delay the approaching Judoon somehow.

"Find the non-human. Execute," one of them commanded, standing right in front of her.

She gathered her courage, straightened herself and said, "Now, listen. I know who you're looking for. She's this woman. She calls herself Florence."

But instead of answering the Judoon just held his scanner in her face. She heard a nasty sound, unlike the one when they were scanning other humans.

"Human. With non-human traits suspected. Non-human element confirmed. Authorize full scan. What are you?" the Judoon said and got even closer. "What are you?"

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Obviously she wasn't supposed to follow him. Well, fair enough. If he didn't feel like involving her in his plans, or even telling her about them, then it was his problem.

You're stupid, she berated herself. And yet she couldn't help herself – she was feeling quite pissed right now. There was no reason for being miffed, and, most of all, right now definitely wasn't the time and place for being in a huff. He could kiss whoever he wanted and for whatever reason he might find appropriate. None of her business. Maybe it was even good that he had kissed her, so she could stop seeing things in their friendship that weren't there.

So, where to next? She decided it might be a good idea to slowly follow him. He didn't say it, but maybe he was relying on her as backup. Why else would he have asked about her first-aid skills? Maybe he should have given her a lesson in Time Lord physiology before relying on that, she thought. Great. That was so him.

She came by an open door to a small office and entered it. A quick look for something useful couldn't hurt, although she doubted she would find a weapon against Judoon in full armour.

As she inspected the desk, her gaze got drawn to a black, thick pen.

'Permanent Marker'

 _Perfect._

She had no idea if the marker the Judoon were using was special in any way, but it was definitely worth a try. Plus, the Doctor had said they were thick. Repeatedly. And they were aliens, so there was a good change they couldn't tell humans apart. At least to her one Judoon looked just like the other. Sure, they probably could distinguish humans by height, hair-colour or something like that. But, on the other hand, she had no idea what frequencies they could see. Could they see colour at all? If they really were that logical and thick, then a black cross on her hand should do the trick, at least for a while.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

Humans, he thought. He hadn't missed the tone in Mira's voice, even though he had no idea what was wrong now. What else should he have done? Licking across Martha's face? They had to buy time somehow, and he had decided that kissing her would be the best option, for everything else – _like licking all across her face_ – would have been considered disgusting and required some explaning. Apart from that, hadn't it been Mira saying their kiss in the Olympic stadium didn't mean anything? Of course, it wouldn't be the first time that a human's words and actions didn't fit together. And, more important, _why_ was he thinking about that at all? He wasn't really considering that there could be something between him and her, something more than friendship, was he? That was impossible. No way.  
He wasn't even sure he could really love someone anymore. Of course, he liked his companions, all of them, liked them enough so that it really hurt when they left in the end. In some way he had even loved them, but more in a platonic, almost parental way. And it had been one-sided, as he had never given away too much from himself. He had always known more about them.

Not that he was about to change _that_ particular part now, but with every day he spent with her he realised more and more how much he had misses someone who dared to challenge him, who could give him hope when there seemingly was no hope left, someone who wasn't scared by what he was, even though she had admitted how much above her the TARDIS and all the other Time Lord technology was. Her presence alone was enough to help him calm down. The moments he had watched her sleeping had been the most peaceful ones in a very long time.

And yet, they could share all that in a friendship. No need to change it into something else. But he also had to admit that he was drawn to her in another, completely different way. In the beginning he had blamed it on the mystery that surrounded her; before he had known about her immortality, the extend of her psychic abilities, the way she could see _through_ him. He simply liked mysteries, but these feelings hadn't vanished with knowing more and more about her. On the contrary. And he wasn't sure at all if he liked it or not.

His thoughts got interrupted by a sound he heard out of the MRI room. He was right. Sounded suspiciously like someone messing with he MRI machine, and that someone was Florence, the Plasmavore.

"Have you seen," he addressed her after he had entered the room, "There are these things, those great big space rhino things, I mean rhinos from space. And we're on the moon. Great big space rhinos with guns on the moon. And I only came in for my bunions, look." He pointed at his bare feet, still trying to sound as agitated as any human should in this situation, "They're all right now, perfectly good treatment, I said to my wife, I'd recommend this place to anyone, but then we end up on the moon. And did I mention the rhinos?"

"Hold him!" Florence said coldly to her slabs, ignoring completely what he had just said.

A moment later he found himself in their grip. They were strong, but probably not strong enough for him, if he wanted to escape. But he had no intention to.

"That thing, that big machine thing, is it supposed to be making that noise?" he asked Florence, who was messing with the MRI device again. Of course he knew exactly what she was about to do, and it was not good. Well, not exactly, but he had vague idea. Apart from that, he was still trying to gain time. He couldn't hear any Judoon approaching yet.

"You wouldn't understand," she replied.

"Isn't that a magnetic resonance imaging thing? Like a ginormous sort of a magnet? I did magnets at GCSE. Well, I failed, but all the same," he said, trying to sound casually now.

"The magnetic setting is now set to 50,000 Tesla."

"Ooh. That's a bit strong, isn't it?"

"I can send out a magnetic pulse that will fry the brain-stems of every living thing within 250,000 miles. Except me, safe in this room," Florence replied.

"But... hold on, hold on, I did geography for GCSE, I did pass that one, doesn't that distance include Earth?"

"Only the side facing the moon. The other half will survive. Call it my little gift," she replied with a somewhat malicious smile.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to forgive me, I'm a little out of my depth. I've spent the past fifteen years working as a postman, hence the bunions - why would you do that?"

"With everyone dead, the Judoon ships will be mine, to make my escape."

"Now, that's weird. You're talking like you're some sort of an alien," he replied.

"Right-o."

"No!"

"Oh, yes."

"You're joshing me," he said, and he had to admit, it was somehow fun to be on the other side this time, even if he was only pretending. But, as said, only somehow, as he knew what was about to happen. But there was no other way. He couldn't let either her or the Judoon kill all people in that hospital.

"I am not," Florence said.

"I'm talking to an alien? In hospital? What, has the place got an ET department?"

"It's the perfect hiding place. Blood banks downstairs for a midnight feast, and all this equipment I'm ready to arm myself with should the police come looking."

"So, those rhinos, they're looking for you?"

"Yes. But I'm hidden."

"Oh. Right! Maybe that's why they're increasing their scans," he said. Just a little bite of information, enough to get her where he wanted her.

"They're doing what?"

"Big chief rhino boy, he said, no sign of a non-human, we must increase our scans... up to setting two?"

"Then I must assimilate again."

 _Bingo._

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"I must appear to be human."

"Well, you're welcome to come home and meet the wife. She'd be honoured. We can have cake."

"Why should I have cake? I've got my little straw," she said, pulling it out of her bag.

"That's nice. Milkshake? I like banana."

"You're quite the funny man. And yet, I think, laughing on purpose at the darkness. I think it's time you found some peace. Steady him!"

Suddenly, the Slabs bent his head to the side.

"What are you doing?" he asked, and it wasn't too hard to sound frightened this time. He only hoped that either Mira or Martha would find him in time. He could 'survive' quite long without heartbeats and oxygen, way longer than humans, but not for ever. Of course, it wasn't the first time he would be faking his dead, only that it wasn't too sure yet how much of it would be 'faking-it' this time.

"I'm afraid this is going to hurt. But if it's any consolation, the dead don't tend to remember."

Mira. She would come. He did trust in her. Not much later his whole world turned black.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She had found the MRI room as well, hearing the Doctor's voice and someone else's – supposedly Florence's. At least it was another alien, that much she could tell. What she heard didn't sound particularly good, in fact it sounded just as bad as what she could hear from down the corridor. The distinct stomping of the Judoon, even though she wouldn't need to hear it, she could clearly feel them approaching.

And if that wasn't enough she realised how used up the air had gotten by now. She had been occupied with so many things that she just hadn't noticed how heavy she was breathing and how hard her cell activator was working to compensate the effects the lack of oxygen had on her body. She would certainly make it longer than all the other humans in here, but not too much longer.

Stay away from the Judoon, the Doctor had told her, but maybe now it was time to put her theory to the test. Whatever his plan was, he was in there with that Plasmavore, who had just decided to suck the blood out of him. Apart from that, the corridor in front of her was empty, she could sense no Judoon there, making it a perfect escape way.

By now the Judoon were around the corner and had obviously spotted her, as well as the door leading to the MRI room. She hurried to hold up her hand before the Judoon could scan her.

For a second that appeared to last forever, he was just eyeing her. She tried to get a grasp of his emotions, but they were pretty neutral right now. Just as she thought she could feel a hint of doubt in them, making her heart drop, he turned to the door.

She waited until all of the Judoon had entered, then she followed. The first thing she saw was an elderly woman, who just got up – with a straw in her hand. Florence? The next thing was the Doctor, lying on the floor-

 _No._

It was a trick. One of his tricks, faking dead, as he had on Skaro, wasn't it? It had to be. That couldn't be it. Not for him. Not here, not at the hands of some Plasmavore. She couldn't believe it, even though she could clearly tell when someone was dead. There was nothing coming from them, not even the basic 'white noise' even people in a deep coma were emanating.

"Now see what you've done. This poor man just died of fright," the woman said coldly.

It was so close. So close that she would jump at her and turn her old, wrinkly neck. Maybe she would have done it, earlier, when her age had still been in the double-digits. At least the jumping-at-her part. By now she knew better.

"Scan him!" one of the Judoon said. "Confirmation: deceased."

"No, he can't be," she heard a voice from behind her. Martha's voice. "Let me through, let me see him," she yelled, but the Judoon stopped her.

"Stop. Case closed."

"Case closed? You idiot!" she yelled at the Judoon who was obviously not willing to see what was going on. " You're not thick, you're outright stupid!"

"Yes, it was her," Martha tried to support her, pointing at Florence. "She killed him. She did it. She murdered him."

"The Judoon have no authority over human crime."

"She's not human," She said together with Martha.

"Oh, but I am. I've been catalogued," Florence said now, showing the back of her hand.

"But she's not! She assimil- " Martha started.

"Yes, she did," she said to her, pointing at the Doctor. But she couldn't bring herself to look in the direction where his corpse was lying.

 _Bullshit. He's not dead. Once the Judoon are gone, he just gets up and then I'll slap him._

"What? Right! You drank his blood. The Doctor's blood," Martha said, obviously getting as well what was going on.

Next thing Martha did was grabbing the scanner from one of the Judoon and pointed it at Florence.

"Oh, all right. Scan all you like," Florence said, all certain that her cover wouldn't blow.

But the scanner made the same nasty sound as it had when scanning her.

"Non-human," the Judoon grunted.

"What?" Florence said, utterly surprised.

"Confirm analysis."

"Oh, but it's a mistake, surely. I'm human. I'm as human as they come."

"He gave his life so they'd find you," Martha said.

No, no he didn't give his life. No way. Martha was wrong. She had to be.

"Confirmed: Plasmavore," the Judoon finally said after scanning her again. "I charge you with the crime of murdering the princess of Patrival Regency Nine."

"She deserved it!" Florence spat. "Those pink cheeks and those blond curls and that simpering voice. She was begging for the bite of a plasmavore."

"Do you confess?"

"Confess? I'm proud of it! Slab - stop them!"

Immediately, the remaining Slab started to shoot, the Judoon shot in return – the leather-guy didn't stand a chance. A little bit of dust and ashes was all that was left of him.

"Verdict: guilty. Sentence: execution," the Judoon said.

"Enjoy your victory, Judoon, because you're going to burn with me. Burn in hell!" Florence said. It were her last words before she got disintegrated by the Judoon. But probably there had been some truth in her words, because there was definitely something going on with the MRI device. Blue lightnings were playing around it, and a warning sign, saying 'MAGNETIC OVERLOAD' had lit up.

"Case closed," the Judoon announced coldly.

"What did she mean, "burn with me"?" Martha asked. She was kneeling next to the Doctor now. "The scanner shouldn't be doing that. She's done something."

"Scans detect lethal acceleration of monomagnetic pulse," the Judoon said after scanning the MRI.

Great. Just great.

"Well, do something! Stop it!" Martha yelled.

"Our jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate."

"Yeah, great. Get lost. Shove off. Or however you say it. Don't come back. Ever," she said. Maybe it was really high time to work together with Torchwood. To do something that things like that would never happen again. Defending Earth, but properly. The whole Earth, not just some imaginary British Empire. And working together in peace with non-hostile aliens.

"You can't just leave it. What's it going to do?" Martha asked.

"All units withdraw," the Judoon said, and off they went.

"You can't go. That thing's going to explode and it's all your fault," Martha shouted after them.

"Martha, leave it," she said to her, and then, finally able to look at him, "Martha, can you-" but the other woman had already started with CPR. Had he planned that from the beginning? He had asked her if she could do that, so it was a trick after all?

"One two three four five. One two three four five," Martha counted.

"Martha!" she said, but right at this moment the other woman seemed to get it on her own.

"Two hearts!" Martha said and continued, this time alternately on both sides of his chest "One two three four five. One two three four five."

Okey, she seemed to know what she was doing, she was a medical student after all. With Martha tending to the Doctor, she turned her attention to the MRI. And not a second too late. What the hell had Florence done? Her eyes slid over the controls and she instantly realised that there was no time to revert the settings. Probably she had even rewired some parts. Main cable then. It must have some main power supply. If it only wouldn't be so hard to think straight. There was almost no oxygen left now. She dived down and behind the machine, just as she heard a gasp and coughing behind her. Was it him? Please let it be him. Who else could it be? Apart from Martha there was no one here. Or was she already hallucinating? Then she saw it. The main power cable. She unplugged it, half expecting that it was the wrong one. But the lightnings stopped and the noise ceased as well.

"You did it!" she suddenly heard a voice behind her.

She spun around, just a little bit too fast. Between the stars that were dancing in front of her eyes she could see the smiling face of the Doctor.

 _Slap him!_

Was it really him? She must be hallucinating. For a moment she was just sitting on the floor, staring at him, not sure what to do next.

 _Slap him!_

But instead, maybe partially because of the lag of oxygen, she grabbed his jacket, pulled him closer and kissed him. Short, but nevertheless properly this time.

"Idiot," was the next thing she said after letting go of him, taking a moment to admire the absolutely dumbfounded expression on his face. Then she punched him on the upper arm.

"Ow! What was that for!?" he whined, rubbing his arm. It had been a decent punch.

"You know very well," she said, got up a little bit too fast, making her see even more stars, and walked over to Martha. She was unconsciously lying on the floor. "Will they reverse it?"

"Most likely," he said and picked Martha up.

She followed him into a room with a window. They past a lot of unconscious people, and by now it was hard for her to stay on her feet. Even the Doctor seemed to be affected by the lack of oxygen.

"Come on, come on, come on. Come on, Judoon, reverse it," he said, staring out of the window.

She stood next to him, holding onto a desk. And then, finally, it started to rain. On the moon. Up. The rain was going up.

"It's raining," he said and smiled at her. "It's raining on the moon."

* * *

 _Julia N SnowMiko, oXxgeorgiaxXo, babypanda468, Ronin Kenshin, heroherondaletotherescue, NeoMulder, bored411, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, Wicken25: Thank you for reviewing :)_


	60. Chapter 60 - Martha

**Chapter LX**

 _Mira's POV_

As soon as they had been back at Earth they left the hospital, without saying goodbye to Martha. At least the Doctor had agreed to stay with Martha until she woke up – not that she couldn't understand his hurry, she hated goodbyes probably as much as he did – but that much time they should spare.

The way out of the hospital then had taken longer than expected; too many people, police, fire-brigade and such, rushed in, and it had taken them some effort to get past them. Once outside, he had waved at Martha, who had made it out as well by now. Then, after going back to the TARDIS, he had not lost one more second and left Earth.

If it was for her, they could have stayed on Earth a bit longer. Maybe had some more words with Martha, watch the policemen trying to figure out what had happened, _getting into contact with Torchwood_ – anything so that she wouldn't have to deal with the Doctor alone in the TARDIS.

What the hell had she been thinking, kissing him like that? Not too much, obviously. She wished she could blame it on the lack of oxygen, but she couldn't. She had been only too aware of what she was doing. Well, maybe not fully aware. But certainly the lack of air hadn't played a role in it. She had acted like a jealous teenager, totally inappropriate for her someone of her age. She should have known better by now, she really should. Most of all, she should have had better control over herself.

All the time whilst thinking she had studied the console and now looked up for the first time, only to notice that the Doctor was watching her from the opposite side of the console. Had he been doing that all the time? Probably.

He was just standing there, his hands in his pockets, one eyebrow slightly raised, his eyes black and endless in the dim light of the console room. Not for the life of her she would have been able to tell what was going on in his head right now.

He on the other hand seemed very well able to do exactly that. She felt as if he was looking right through her, and even her looking away would not change that. For a moment all her pretending, all excuses, masks, lies and prevarications suddenly became useless; vanished into thin air. She almost felt naked under his gaze – naked in a more exposed way than the simple lack of clothes could have ever made her feel. And as much as she dreaded this feeling of exposure, she had to acknowledge that some part of her was actually yearning to embrace it. It was only him and her in the TARDIS right now, and everything else became unimportant, such as the Judoon scanning her as an alien, and even this strange universe which wasn't hers seemed a little less foreign to her for that moment. It was almost like when they had been in the Observatory, shortly after Rose was lost in the parallel world. When they had just looked at each other for a while. And she had done nothing between then and now to stay away from him; on the contrary. She had made it even worse, she suddenly realised, despite her intentions. She had tried to convince herself that he had no interest in her – that, even though she couldn't read his emotions - he just liked her, as a friend, a companion, nothing more. But now it dawned on her that most likely she was being wrong, knowing it all the time.

 _Knowing and accepting had always been two completely different things. If not complete opposites._

They _had_ to talk. There was no way around it. Firstly, there was still a slight chance she was wrong and only seing things. Secondly, it just couldn't be, and therefore it was better they both knew it. She had loved - and she had lost. And, if it really was true that loving and losing was better than never to love at all, then that was enough for her, enough for one lifetime, no matter how long that would be in her case. She couldn't go through all that again; so better to clear things now.

"I-" she started, but at the same moment he opened his mouth to say something as well. "You first."

"Nah, wasn't that important. Well, it is, otherwise I wouldn't say it, and all I say is somehow important, but...," he said and scratched his neck. "You go first."

"Sure?"

"Yeah, go on," he said and cracked a not so convincing smile.

"Well...," she started, still searching for the right words. What should she say? Suddenly, her head felt completely empty. The only thing she could do right now was cursing his good hearing and her quickly beating heart. He couldn't hear it over there, could he? It wasn't really quiet in the console room, so probably not. But, even though it was anything but quiet with the ever-present humming of the TARDIS, silence had fallen heavy between them, filling now not only her head, but the whole room.

 _Just say it._

They had agreed on being nothing more than companions, and it shouldn't be too hard to just renew that promise, should it? She only had to hear it from him, just once more. She braced herself, tried to mentally phrase her thoughts into straight sentences – it shouldn't be too hard, should it? Just asking – no, _stating_ – that nothing had changed between them. That nothing could ever change. She took a deep breath to steady herself and looked straight into his eyes.

"I-" she started, resisting the temptation to avert her eyes. Was he afraid now? It almost seemed like, but who could say that with him. "We-" she started again.

 _Are friends. That's it._

Why for all planets was it so hard? "We..Maybe we should ask Martha along?" she heard herself say, whilst mentally slapping herself. "The TARDIS does feel a bit empty now, doesn't she?"

 _Ouch._

She saw how his face fell, but only for a moment, then he turned his gaze to the console and said, "Sure. Why not? At least for some time. She's nice, isn't she?" He flipped a few switches and continued talking, "And she deserves it somehow, doesn't she?"

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

She was at home, getting herself ready for her brother's birthday. Her mind was still occupied with the Judoon, the incredible view from the Moon's surface with the Earth floating above her head. And the man who had introduced himself at the Doctor, stated he was actually alien - _Come on, you've heard his heartbeats. And his lips... -_ and had kissed her. Well, she could somehow see why he had done that, but nevertheless, it had been a kiss. And then he and Mira had vanished, waving at her at one moment, gone at the next. It could all have been a dream – if it wouldn't be for the announcer saying, "Eyewitness reports from the Royal Hope Hospital continue to pour in, and it all seems to be remarkably consistent. This from medical student Oliver Morgenstern." at the radio right now. And for the black cross she had scrubbed off the back of her hand. She only hoped she would see the Doctor again; it was unlikely, but she had a feeling that she could be lucky.

 **...**

Her father had actually brought Annalise to her brother's party. And, of course, it hadn't worked. Now all she could try to do was some damage control, even though she knew with her mother obviously looking for a fight it might be in vain.

"I am not staying in here to be insulted!" Annalise yelled and stormed out of the pub.

"She didn't mean it, sweetheart. She just said you look healthy," her father made a poor attempt to console her.

"No, I did not. I said orange," her mother made very clear that it had indeed been an insult.

"Clive, that woman is disrespecting me. She's never liked me," Annalise whined now.

 _Oh, really? You're sleeping with her husband and she's supposed to like you now?_

"Oh, I can't think why, after you stole my husband," her mother spoke out what Martha was thinking.

"I was seduced. I'm entirely innocent! Tell her, Clive!" Annalise said.

She really wasn't the brightest candle on the cake. But she was blonde and well- young, and that seemed to be enough for her father.

"And then she has a go at Martha, practically accused her of making the whole thing up," her mother spat at Annalise.

Oh hell, could she just leave her out of it? She knew all to well her mother was talking about her with the whole hospital being on the moon.

"Mum, I don't mind. Just leave it," she told her mother. But it was too late.

"Oh. "I've been to the moon!" As if. They were drugged. It said so on the news," Annalise spat back at her mother.

"Since when did you watch the news? You can't handle 'Quiz Mania'!"

"Annalise started it. She did. I heard her," Trish said now to Martha.

Now Trish wanted to get involved too? Great. Sometimes she really was just like their mother.

"Trish, don't make it worse," Leo tried to calm her down.

"You're talking, Leo. What did she buy you, soap? A seventy-five pence soap?" Trish replied.

"Oh, I'm never talking to your family again!" Annalise yelled and finally stormed off. If she would only stick to that promise...

"Oh, stay. Have a night out," her mother shouted.

"Don't you dare. I'm putting my foot down. This is me, putting my foot down," her father now said and started to chase after his girlfriend.

"Dad!" Leo tried to stop him.

What in hell had she done to deserve that, Martha thought to herself. Hern father just _had_ to bring Annalise. It had been a disaster waiting to happen.

"Make a fool of yourself!" her mother yelled after him. "God knows, you've been doing it for the last twenty-five years! Why stop now?" Now she stormed off as well, Trish rushing after her.

"Mum, don't! I asked the DJ and he's playing that song later-"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. She was about to go back inside when her eyes fell on an all too familiar figure. Tall, dark haired, dressed in a suit. But he had changed, it was a brown suit now, and he was wearing a light brown, long coat. He just stood at a corner, looked at her for a moment and then went around the building.

Well, if that hadn't been an invitation to follow him...

She went around the building into some small alleyway. After a few steps she saw him leaning against a blue police box. She had seen those things occasionally, but she didn't know that one was standing right here. And no one was using them any more, were they?

His friend, companion, or whatever she was, was standing next to him. At least they weren't together, as he had kissed her right in front of Mira's eyes.

Mira had changed as well and was now dressed in a dark blue jacket that almost looked like a part of a uniform, with epaulettes and some symbol on the front she had never seen before. Well, could just be fashionable, at least it didn't resemble any uniform she knew. Her hair was braided into some beehive-like hairdo, with a part of it falling down over her left shoulder. It must be really long, or she was wearing a hairpiece. She would totally fit into one of the classic Star Trek episodes, Martha couldn't help to think. She was just a bit too skinny for that. Apart from that, she wasn't entirely sure yet if Mira was human, just as a part of her still didn't fully believe the Doctor _wasn't_ human.

"I went to the moon today," she said with a smile, if only for the sake of saying _something_.

"A bit more peaceful than down here," he said.

"You never even told me who you are," she said, meaning both of them.

"She's Mira, I'm the Doctor. Travelling together."

"What sort of species? It's not every day I get to ask that."

"I'm a Time Lord."

"Right! Not pompous at all, then," she replied, stepping closer.

"She- We," he said, looking over to Mira and then back to her, "just thought since you saved my life and I've got a brand new sonic screwdriver which needs road testing, you might fancy a trip."

"What, into space?"

"Real space this time. Moon is nice, but well- It's only our own Moon," Mira said with a soft smile.

"I can't," Martha heard herself say. In truth she would like nothing more than just to go with them, with him, after all she had seen today, but- "I've got exams. I've got things to do. I have to go into town first thing and pay the rent, I've got my family going mad..."

"If it helps, I can travel in time, as well," the Doctor interrupted her.

Okay, now he was taking it a little bit too far. "Get out of here," she said.

"I can."

"He can," Mira confirmed. "Really."

"Come on now, that's going too far."

"Mira, wait here. I'll prove it," he said and went into the police box.

The other woman stepped away from the box and was standing next to her now. Before she could say a single word to her, the box suddenly started to disappear, making weird noises.

"What...," she started to say and turned her head to Mira, who was just standing and looking at the spot where the box had stood a moment ago, her arms crossed. "Where did he go? Will he come back?"

"Oh, he better will," Mira said, and just now she heard the weird noise again, and the box reappeared. The Doctor stepped out again, holding his tie in his hand.

"Told you!" he said with a wide smile, and suddenly it dawned on her.

"I know, but... that was this morning! But - Did you... Oh, my God! You can travel in time!" she said and watched how he put on his tie again. So, he had met her this morning, after all that had happened? Well, at least from his point of view. "But hold on, if you could see me this morning, why didn't you tell me not to go in to work?"

"Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden. Except for cheap tricks," he said with an absolutely adorable expression on his face.

"And that's your spaceship?" she asked. It was a box. A simple, wooden box. But she had seen it disappearing with her own eyes.

"It's called the TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimension in Space," he explained.

"Your spaceship's made of wood," she said after gently touching it. "There's not much room. We'd be a bit _intimate_."

Was she really just flirting with an alien who could travel in time? Well, maybe she was. But he had kissed her first. She shot Mira a quick look, and for a moment she got the impression the other woman was deliberately avoiding her gaze, with a sad expression on her face. But it could also be only her imagination.

"Take a look," the Doctor said, pushing open the door, and from that moment on everything else, including flirting with him, seemed to be absolutely unimportant.

It was _huge_. She took a step inside the box, only to find herself in a large, round room. The ceiling was supported by almost organic looking columns, and in the middle was a single console. All was bathed in green and blue light, and it really looked absolutely _alien_.

"Oh, no, no," she was saying, not able to wrap her head around all this. Time travel? Well, okay, he had proven that, even though it could still be some sort of trick. But what was that now? She went outside again, past the Doctor and Mira who were standing next to the door. "But it's just a box. But it's huge. How does it do that? It's wood," she said and knocked at the box again, just to be sure. Wood. Absolutely wood-ish. "It's like a box with that room just rammed in. It's bigger on the inside." She went back inside.

"Is it?" she heard the Doctor say and she didn't miss his mocking tone. "I hadn't noticed." He closed the door behind her and threw his coat over one of the columns. "All right, then, let's get going."

"But is there a crew? Like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?" she asked. She couldn't quite believe that he was flying that box all on his own. But then again, what did she know about spaceships?

"Just the two of us."

"Travel companions?" she asked and could have slapped herself for that. Not obvious at all, was it?

"Well, yes. Picked her up, so to speak," the Doctor said, looking at Mira, seemingly uncomfortable.

"My ship exploded," Mira explained. "So I'm a bit.. well, homeless now."

"Yeah, so she's staying here. Oh, and just recently, there was someone else, a friend. Her name was Rose. But she's at home now. With her family. She's fine."

She looked from the Doctor to Mira and back again. They had been together, hadn't they? Did they just brake up? Or was it just that she wanted to be with him, but he not with her? Well, not her problem, as it obviously was past now. But what sort of ship did she mean? Most likely not a sea-ship. But there were no spaceships on Earth. Where was she from?

"So, let's go then," he said again. "That's just one trip to say 'thanks', you get one trip, then back home," he added, looking at Mira even though he was clearly speaking to Martha. Mira looked as if she was about to say something, but then decided against it.

"You're the one that kissed me," Martha said provokingly and approached him. Why did he want to get rid of her so soon again?

"That was a genetic transfer," her said, all serious.

 _Really? Best excuse for a kiss ever._

And she would have never thought it could sound that _hot_. Yeah, right, she could see now why 'genetic transfer', but he hadn't had to kiss her for that, had he?

"And if you will wear a tight suit...," she continued, moving around the console.

"Now... don't!" he said, looking straight in her eyes.

"And then travel all the way across the universe just to ask me on a date..."

"Stop it."

"For the record?" she said and leaned in at him. "I'm not remotely interested. I only go for humans."

"Really? You've no idea what you're missing _,_ " Mira said dryly and flipped some switches on the console. All of a sudden, the whole ship seemed to come alive with the central column glowing brighter and the humming getting louder.

"Well, then," the Doctor said after clearing his throat, "Good. Close down the gravitic anomalizer. Fire up the helmic regulator. And finally - the hand brake. Ready?"

"No," she said after a second of consideration. Where would she end up? And – when?

 _Did he really just say hand brake?_

"Off we go," he said and pulled a lever. Suddenly, the whole room shook and jolted, sending him falling to the floor.

"Blimey, it's a bit bumpy," she said and almost fell herself, if Mira wouldn't have supported her.

"I strongly believe by now he's doing that intentionally," Mira said with a smirk.

"Welcome aboard, Miss Jones," the Doctor interrupted them after he had pulled himself up again, holding out his hand to her.

"It's my pleasure, Mr Smith," she said and shook it.

* * *

 _OxxgeorgiaxXo, NeoMulder, Julia N SnowMiko, heroheroandaletotherescue, Ronin Kenshin, bored411, 10th Squad 3rd Seat and the unknown guest: Thank you for leaving a review :-)_


	61. Chapter 61 - The Shakespeare Code Pt 1

**Chapter LXI**

 _Mira's POV_

It had been a mistake to ask Martha along, using her as a distraction only because she herself didn't have the guts to finally put straight what was between her and the Doctor. To finally tell him that there was nothing, they were still only companions and apologise for that stupid kiss. But no, instead of doing that, she _had_ to ask if Martha could accompany them, despite – or maybe just because of – knowing that Martha had a serious crush on him.

Apart from all that, what had he wanted to tell her? She would probably never find it out now.

"But how do you travel in time? What makes it go?" Martha asked, holding tight to one of the handrails and pulling her out of her thoughts.

Had Rose ever asked how it was working? Maybe earlier, before she had met her.

"Oh, let's take the fun and mystery out of everything. Martha, you don't want to know. It just does," the Doctor replied, pressing some buttons. "Hold on tight."

The next moment, the shaking stopped so suddenly that Martha fell to the floor, whilst she herself only made a step to the side to regain her balance. The fleeting thought about how much time of her life she had spend on spaceships crossed her mind. Probably more than on planets. Where were they anyway?

"Blimey. Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?" Martha said now and got up again.

"Yes, and I failed it," the Doctor replied, whilst running through the console room in a hurry. He really seemed to be quite serious about Martha coming along only for one trip. And he seemed to be determined to get it over with as fast as possible. "Now, make the most of it. I promised you one trip, and one trip only. Outside this door, brave new world."

"Where are we?" Martha asked, and for a moment Mira was filled with the excitement and curiosity she could feel coming from her.

"Take a look," the Doctor said with a smile. "After you."

After a moment of hesitation, Martha walked over to the door and opened it. Immediately, the console room was filled with the outside noise. Chatter, sounds of animals and of work carried out. English, wasn't it? They must still be on Earth then, at least she could feel no alien presence apart from the TARDIS in her mind. Then she caught a glimpse over Martha's shoulder. Indeed, it was Earth. Middle Ages? No, later. Maybe late Tudor?

"Oh, you are kidding me. You are so kidding me," Martha said with her head out of the door. "Oh, my God, we did it. We travelled in time. Where are we? No, sorry. I got to get used to this whole new language. When are we?"

"Mind out," the Doctor, who was directly behind her, said and suddenly pulled her back. Not a moment too late, as someone emptied a bucket with rather unpleasant contents from an upstairs window, shouting something. "Somewhere before the invention of the toilet. Sorry about that," the Doctor explained.

"I've seen worse. I've worked the late night shift A+E. But are we safe? I mean, can we move around and stuff?" Martha asked.

"Maybe better not tell them something about your time, or you might end up at the stake, burned as a witch. Or get sectioned," she said and followed the two of them, closing the door behind her.

"Of course we can," the Doctor said, striding along with his hands in his pockets, looking absolutely misplaced in his suit and coat. Just as Martha and herself, wearing trousers. "Why do you ask?"

"It's like in the films. You step on a butterfly, you change the future of the human race," Martha replied.

"It's actually not that easy," she said now. "It takes a bit more than to kill a single butterfly. Time is surprisingly stable in itself. Mostly." She decided to ignore the puzzled look the Doctor shot her. He still didn't seem to fully believe her when she was talking about time and the way she was able to perceive it.

"Really? How do you know that? You're from Earth, aren't you?" Martha asked.

"Yes. Future. Studied it, sort of. He still doesn't quite believe it," she said, nodding at the Doctor, "But actually humanity will become able to deal with the mathematics of time travel. And I'm intentionally saying that we'll deal with it, not understand it, but-"

"Tell you what then, just don't step on any butterflies," the Doctor interrupted her. "What have butterflies ever done to you?" he turned around, walked backwards for a few yards and looked at Martha.

"What if, I don't know, what if I kill my grandfather?" Martha didn't let go of that topic.

"Are you planning to?" the Doctor asked.

"No."

"Well, then," he said and that seemed the end of this topic for him.

"And this is London?" Martha asked.

"Tudor time?" she added.

"I think so," he said to Martha and then turned his head to Mira. "Technically not. Practically the very last years of Elizabeth Tudor. Round about 1599. Makes it the Elizabethan England. Just a few steps further away from the Dark Ages then the Tudor England was."

"What a shame. I had hoped to meet Henry the Eighth himself. And Anne Boleyn," she murmured.

"Why Anne Boleyn?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, why not? Just to see what was so special about her that the King of England not only wanted a divorce, but even broke with the church for that. All that for a woman. Can we meet her some day? Please."

"Uhm, well-"

"Oh, but hold on," Martha suddenly interrupted them, seemingly shocked. "Am I all right? I'm not going to get carted off as a slave, am I?"

"Why would they do that?" the Doctor asked.

Yes, why? Mira wasn't getting it as well. No one seemed interested in them, despite their clothes.

"Not exactly white, in case you haven't noticed."

 _Oh, right._

"I'm not even human," the Doctor replied with a shrug. "Just walk about like you own the place. Works for me. Besides, you'd be surprised. Elizabethan England, not so different from your time. Look over there. They've got recycling," he said and nodded to a man who was shovelling horse manure into a bucket. "Water cooler moment."

They were walking by two man talking at a water barrel, then reached a preacher, saying, "And the world will be consumed by flame."

 _Actually - at least parts of it - more than once._

"Global warming," the Doctor commented. "Oh, yes, and entertainment. Popular entertainment for the masses. If I'm right, we're just down the river by Southwark, right next to..." He suddenly took both of them by the hand and ran around a corner, over some Bridge, past a Cathedral, "Oh, yes, the Globe Theatre! Brand new. Just opened. Through, strictly speaking, it's not a globe, it's a tetra-decagon. Fourteen sides. Containing the man himself."

 _Shakespeare?_

"Whoa, you don't mean. Is Shakespeare in there?" Martha had the idea as well.

"Oh, yes. Miss Rhodan, Miss Jones, will you accompany me to the theatre?" he asked and offered them both an arm.

She wondered for a moment what the other people would think of them, with him having a woman at each side.

"When you get home, you can tell everyone you've seen Shakespeare," he said to Martha.

" _Then_ I could get sectioned," she replied.

 _Martha's POV_

They had watched the performance between all the ordinary folk in the theatre. No one had minded them, even though they must really stick out. Now the folk was applauding the actors.

"That's amazing! Just amazing. It's worth putting up with the smell. And those are men dressed as women, yeah?"

"London never changes," the Doctor said casually.

"Where's Shakespeare? I want to see Shakespeare," she said. It would be so cool to actually see Shakespeare himself. "Author! Author!" she started to shout but then stopped to ask the Doctor, "Do people shout that? Do they shout Author?"

"Author! Author!" a man behind her started to shout, and soon enough the crowd fell in.

"Well, they do now," the Doctor said after looking around.

But before she could think about influencing history, a man came onto the stage. There was no doubt, it could only be _him_.

"He's a bit different from his portraits," she noted.

"Yeah, they always edited pictures, that's not a new thing to do," Mira, who was standing next to her, said.

She shot a short look to the other woman. Mira seemed to be a quite nice person. Was she really from her future? How far in the future? At least she tried to explain things to her, when the Doctor just said she should simply believe it. And she liked her dry humour.

"Genius. He's a genius. _The_ genius," the Doctor, standing on her other side, said. " _The_ most human human there's ever been. Now we're going to hear him speak. Always he chooses the best words. New, beautiful, brilliant words."

And indeed, Shakespeare finally chose to speak. But his choice of words was rather questionable, at least the Doctor would have said that. "Ah, shut your big fat mouths!" he said, causing the crowd to laugh.

"Oh, well,! She heard the Doctor say, _slightly_ disappointed.

"You should never meet your heroes," she said sympathetic, and couldn't help but smile as she heard Mira saying, "I like him already!"

"You've got excellent taste, I'll give you that. Oh, that's a wig," Shakespeare said and pointed in the crowd. "I know what you're all saying. Loves Labour's Lost, that's a funny ending, isn't it? It just stops. Will the boys get the girls? Well, don't get your hose in a tangle, you'll find out soon. Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don't rush a genius." He stopped speaking for a moment and looked into space, his face somehow blank. "When?" he continued, "Tomorrow night. The premiere of my brand new play. A sequel, no less, and I call it Loves Labour's Won."

He went off the stage and the people started to leave as well, leaving her, the Doctor and Mira no choice but to follow them.

"Love Labour's Won? Never heard that. At least in my universe he didn't write that one. I mean, there were rumours, but...," she heard Mira say.

In her universe? What was that supposed to mean now?

"Well, I'm not an expert, but at least I've never heard of Loves Labour's Won," she said and looked to the Doctor, who was walking now in in the middle between her and Mira.

"Exactly. The lost play. It doesn't exist, only in rumours. It's mentioned in lists of his plays but never ever turns up. And no one knows why," he responded.

"Have you got a mini-disc or something?" she suddenly asked, having a weird thought crossing her mind, "We can tape it. We can flog it. Sell it when we get home and make a mint."

"No," the Doctor simply said, making her immediately understand how stupid that idea was.

"That would be bad," she said.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, looking at her in a way that made her heart skip a beat. Almost.

"Well, how come it disappeared in the first place?" she asked.

"Well, I was just going to give you a quick little trip in the TARDIS, but I suppose we could stay a bit longer."

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She followed the Doctor to an Inn. She quite liked the idea of spending more time here, in Elizabethan England. It just was a shame that they hadn't changed their clothes – they were sticking out, even though no one seemed to mind it. But she herself would have liked it much better to be dressed appropriately. Apart from that, it really was a good thing Martha was here. Not only had she proven herself rather clever, but also the chances that she would end up somewhere alone with him were much lower. So no more room for awkward conversations. Or, more specifically, awkward _attempts_ to have even more awkward conversations. She just couldn't help thinking like that, even though she really felt bad by now for using Martha like that.

 _Quite rightfully feeling bad._

Martha even seemed to like her. Yet.

Inside the Inn, they went up to a room – the Doctor seemed to know exactly where to go. She could already hear voices, one of them being Shakespeare's.

"Hello!" the Doctor said and stuck his head through the door. "Excuse me, not interrupting, am I? Mister Shakespeare, isn't it?"

"Oh, no. No, no, no," Shakespeare said, visibly annoyed. "Who let you in? No autographs. No, you can't have yourself sketched with me. And please don't ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove-" But before he could finish the sentence, his eyes turned to her, glided over her body and then focused on a pointe behind her, just where Martha was standing. "Hey, nonny nonny," he continued, not so annoyed any more. "Sit right down here next to me. You two get sewing on them costumes," he waved at the men who were in the room with him, "Off you go."

"Come on, lads," a woman, probably the owner of the Inn, said, "I think our William's found his new muse."

"Sweet lady," Shakespeare said to Martha as they were sitting down on the table, now alone with him, "Such unusual clothes. So fitted."

"Er, verily, forsooth, egads," Martha said, causing not only her face, but the Doctor's face as well to drop.

"No, no, don't do that. Don't," he hurried to say.

Meanwhile, she had mustered Shakespeare closer. There was something about him, something catching, charming, but that was not it. He was psychic, wasn't he? She could clearly sense it, now that she was so close to him. It wasn't very strong, and most likely he wasn't even aware of it – how could he, how could anyone be, as long as no one told them that the other people weren't like them – or it was simply still latent, not fully developed yet, lying dormant under the surface of his brilliant mind.

Just then she saw out of the corner of her eye how the Doctor produced his psychic paper. Bad idea, she thought, really bad idea. But before she could stop him, he was showing it to Shakespeare.

"I'm Sir Doctor of TARDIS and this is my companion, Miss Martha Jones. Oh, and Lady Mira of TARDIS."

"Interesting," Shakespeare said, "that bit of paper. It's blank."

"Oh, that's very clever," the Doctor said in admiration, "That proves it. Absolute genius."

"No, it says so right there," Martha insisted and pointed at the psychic paper, "Sir Doctor, Lady Mira, Martha Jones. It says so."

"And I say it's blank," Shakespeare said.

"Martha, he got it," she said to Martha in an attempt to save her that humiliation. "No need to pretend."

"Psychic paper," the Doctor said, absolutely oblivious to her attempts. "Er, long story. Oh, I hate starting from scratch," he added, rubbing his eye.

"Psychic? Never heard that before and words are my trade. Who are you exactly? More's the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady?"

"What did you say?" Martha said, totally shocked.

All too understandable, no one would use a word like that any more. But right now, she was not in her time, and Shakespeare had a few more words like that in store, as he instantly proved.

"Oops. Isn't that a word we use nowadays? An Ethiop girl? A swart? A Queen of Afric?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Martha said in so much disbelief that she felt truly sorry for her.

"It's political correctness gone mad," the Doctor now intervened. "Er, Martha's from a far-off land. Freedonia."

Before the situation could get even more embarrassing, they got interrupted by a man who literally burst into the room. He was wearing expensive clothes and had a golden chain of office around his neck. One didn't need to be an empath to tell how enraged he was.

"Excuse me!" he started to speak without greeting, "Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behaviour. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script, Mister Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed."

For a moment, the whole scene seemed outright surreal to her. There was a man, dressed as if jumped right out of an old painting, speaking as in some old play, to the man himself, Shakespeare. Well, she had already dealt with Queen Victoria, but somehow that had been different. Plus, she always had had a fable for that particular time and the Tudors. And even though it was basically Elizabethan England and no longer the England of Henry the Eighth, she still was fascinated by it.

"Tomorrow morning, first thing, I'll send it round," Shakespeare said to the man.

"I don't work to your schedule, you work to mine. The script, now!"

"I can't," Shakespeare replied, all calm.

"Then tomorrow's performance is cancelled."

Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed that the maid who had been cleaning the floor left, but she was too captured by the conversation to pay any attention to it.

"It's all go around here, isn't it?" Martha asked quietly.

"I'm returning to my office for a banning order. If it's the last thing I do, Love's Labours Won will never be played," the ma said and stormed out of the room.

"Well then, mystery solved," Martha said, speaking out loud what she herself was thinking. "That's Love's Labours Won over and done with. Thought it might be something more, you know, more mysterious-"

Suddenly, she heard a man's scream from the street, followed by the scream of a woman. By then, she already was on her feed, heading for the door, regretting once more that she didn't have a weapon.

Outside she was joined by the Doctor and Martha. They all watched a man who was spewing quite large amounts of water. It seemed almost as if he was drowning, but how? There was no open water here, just a barrel. And somehow she doubted that he had put his head in there whilst taking a deep breath.

"It's that Master of the Revels bloke," Martha said.

"What's wrong with him?" the Doctor asked and had already started to approach the guy. "Leave it to me. I'm a doctor," he said to the people who were standing and staring in shock.

"So am I," she heard Martha say, "Near enough."

Well, fine. She herself had promoted in some areas, but unfortunately never in medicine. But she had substantial theoretical knowledge and practice in first aid.

But before they could reach the guy, he collapsed on the floor. Dead.

"Got to get the heart going," Martha said. Hey, Mister, come on. Can you hear me? You're going to be all right."

She was about to clear his airways as water gushed out. A lot of it.

"What the hell is that?" Martha asked.

"I've never seen a death like it," the Doctor, crouching next to her, said. "His lungs are full of water. He drowned and then, I don't know, like a blow to the heart, an invisible blow." He looked at the man for a few more seconds, before addressing the woman from the Inn, "Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humours. A natural if unfortunate demise. Call a constable and have him taken away."

"Yes, sir," she confirmed.

"I'll do it, ma'am," the woman who had cleaned the floor earlier said and left, without waiting for an answer.

"And why are you telling them that?" Martha wanted to know.

"This lot still have got one foot in the Dark Ages. If I tell them the truth, they'll panic and think it was witchcraft," he replied.

"Okay, what was it then?" Martha asked.

"Witchcraft," she said, together with the Doctor.

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

They had went back into the room with Shakespeare and the woman from the Inn. All the time she had to think about what Mira and the Doctor were meaning with witchcraft. There was no such thing, was it? But, on the other hand, there was time travel and aliens. So why not witchcraft?

"I got you a room, Sir Doctor. You, Madam Mira and Miss Jones are just across the landing."

"Poor Lynley," Shakespeare sighed. "So many strange events. Not least of all, this land of Freedonia where a woman can be a doctor?"

"Where a woman can do what she likes," she replied with a smile. By now she was over the names he had called her. He obviously hadn't meant to insult here, and he was quite charming. Not as charming as the Doctor, but hey, he was _Shakespeare_.

"And you, Sir Doctor. How can a man so young have eyes so old?" he addressed the Doctor now. Did he know? No, no way. How could he?

"I do a lot of reading," the Doctor simply said.

"A trite reply," Shakespeare said. "Yeah, that's what I'd do. And you?" he turned his head to her again, "You look at him like you're surprised he exists. He's as much of a puzzle to you as he is to me. And you, Lady Mira? Such fair skin and eyes as clear as ice. I only hope your heart is not as frozen yet as your eyes appear to be. You must be far away from home?"

Okay, _now_ it was getting weird. A bit too weird for her taste.

"I think we should say goodnight," she said and left, hoping the Doctor and Mira would follow her.

She reached the room and had just lid a candle as her two companions entered as well.

"It's not exactly five star, is it?" she said with a smile.

The bed was rather small, the floor was wooden, and the wall hanging had definitely seen better times. There was a wardrobe as well as a small table with a bowl on it with some water and a small mirror leaning against the wall.

"Oh, it'll do. I've seen worse," the Doctor replied.

"Let's just hope there're no fleas here," Mira said. "Flea bites itch for weeks."

"Do you really think here are fleas? Great. And I haven't even got a toothbrush."

"Oh. Er," the Doctor said and began to search in his pockets until he produced a toothbrush. "Contains Venusian spearmint."

"So, who's going where?" she said as she grabbed the toothbrush. They weren't supposed to share it, were they? "I mean, there's only one bed."

"We'll manage. Come on," he said and hopped on the bed.

"I'm not going in the middle," Mira said. "I don't like that. Makes me feel claustrophobic."

She turned her head and saw the other woman sitting on the small chair at the table. She had taken off her jacket, and with the black t-shirt she was wearing Martha could see now that she wasn't _that_ skinny. Well, she was, but she also had quite defined arms and didn't look as if starving any minute. Now she was pulling hairpins out of her hair, placing them on the table. She looked back from Mira to the Doctor, who seemed to watch Mira opening her hair with some fascination.

"So, magic and stuff. That's a surprise. It's all a little bit Harry Potter," she said, still standing in the middle of the room, between the bed and the table.

"Wait till you read book seven. Oh, I cried," the Doctor said.

"But is it real, though? I mean, witches, black magic and all that, it's real?"

"Course it isn't!" the Doctor replied, as if talking to a child that had just asked if elephants could fly.

Before she could answer anything, she heard Mira sigh.

"Sometimes he has an incredible lack of fantasy," the other woman said, obviously being finished with the hairpins. She brushed her hair with her fingers, and now Martha could see how long it really was, as well as that it most likely was her own hair.

"What!?" the Doctor said so indignant that it almost sounded funny.

"Oh, come on," Mira said. "Witchcraft and the art of magic is nothing more but a way to channel psychic energy. It doesn't matter how you call it in the end. Humans have tried it for- well, for ever. Some more successfully than others."

"Nah. It only looks like witchcraft, at least to the people of that time, but it isn't. Witchcraft doesn't exist. Can't be. Are you two going to stand there all night?"

Well, good question actually. Mira had stood up as well by know and was braiding her hair into a simple braid.

"Budge up a bit, then," she said, decided to take a chance, "Sorry, there's not much room. All of us here, same bed. Tongues will wag."

"There's such a thing as psychic energy-" the Doctor said thoughtfully, and moved a bit more in the middle of the bed, making room for her.

"Such a thing? Oh, don't you say," Mira mumbled.

"But a human couldn't channel it like that-" he continued unperturbedly.

"I said it, lack of fantasy," Mira said unimpressed, causing him to flinch.

"Channel it like that without a generator the size of Taunton and I think we'd have spotted that," he continued, raising an eyebrow.

His eyes were still locked on her, Martha could see. Suddenly she realised it. Maybe they weren't together any more, for whatever reasons – but, in fact, that was just what they were trying to convince themselves of. They only would have to watch themselves; they were still behaving like some old couple. There was something between them, something that made her feel like an outsider, almost like an intruder.

"No, there's something I'm missing," he said.

"Magic!" Mira teased him, hopping on the bed at his other side.

"Stop it!" he said. "It's something really close, staring me right in the face and I can't see it."

"Like psychic energy aka magic?" Mira said, her face now quite close to his. She just couldn't let go of it.

What was all the talk about psychic energy anyway? Was she now supposed to believe in telepathy and all that?

"Anyway, we'll find it out somehow. Tomorrow. And after that, I'll take you back home," he said, suddenly turning his head to her.

 _Oh, really?_

"Great!" she said and blow out the candle.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He was lying on his back, his arms crossed behind his head, staring into darkness. Well, it wasn't that dark in here, but obviously dark enough for humans. Martha on his right side was sleeping, but Mira was still awake, lying on the side with the back to him, facing the window. He was still thinking about what she had wanted to say to him. Certainly not what she actually had said, and he had his own theories why she had asked if Martha could come along. Well, he had to admit that it was nice with Martha, and earlier, much earlier, before the war, he probably would have asked Martha to come along as a companion.

He was only glad that he hadn't got a chance to say what he had been about to say. Had he really been about to talk to her about the kiss? About her whole 'relationship'? That so wasn't _him_. Maybe it was only because he had had contact with her - with her mind - once to often. Even though it had only been skin deep every time, it certainly had rubbed off on him. All her humanity, that human urge to talk about feelings – even though she wasn't particularly talkative when it came to feelings – their sense for romance, for love – Nah, good that she had started to talk as well right at that moment. Oh well, sure, her words had hurt, but only for a moment, just as he had thought there was something between them, that there was some sort of an understanding, almost as it had been back then in the Observatory. But he had most likely been wrong. He would have been lost for words anyway. What was it he had wanted to tell her? That he - well. He couldn't even think it. So where was the point in speaking, if-

Suddenly Mira turned around, and after a moment she laid her head on his shoulder and one arm over his chest, cuddling up close to his side.

He actually forgot to breathe for a moment, then lifted his head slightly and looked at her. What was that supposed to be? Was she really thinking that he would believe she was sleeping only because her eyes were closed?

She stiffened slightly, and, before she could turn away again and without quite realising what he was doing, he put his arms around her, lightly stroking his fingers over her silky hair and the soft skin of her naked forearms. His nose was filled with the slight smell of lavender and cloves from her soap, which perfectly matched with the unique scent of her body. And she actually _did_ smell good – even though she was human.

* * *

 _Julia N SnowMiko, Ronin Kenshin, bored411, NeoMulder, babypanda-468, 10th Squad 3rd Seat: Thank you all for leaving a review :-)_


	62. Chapter 62 - The Shakespeare Code Pt 2

**Chapter LXII**

 _Mira's POV_

Everything was all right as long as she stayed busy. But whenever she was lying in the dark, trying to get some rest, there was nothing left to keep her thoughts from moving in directions she never wanted them to go again. She didn't want to lose it like she did all that time ago. She couldn't even say why she was so afraid of that. She was a different person today, not a teenager or in her twenties and more, and much more resourceful. There was no need to numb her feelings with drugs, no need to turn against herself in an desperate attempt to regain at least some control over her life. A life without any certainty, a life where everything seemed to slip out of her hands.

 _Sure about that?_

She took a deep breath, trying to force her thoughts in a different direction. Yes she was sure about that. Pretty sure. She was over that self destructive behaviour for ages now, and at times even she herself couldn't understand any more why she had acted like she had done. At those times, when everything was nothing but distant memories from a time over a thousand years ago.

She could feel Martha sleeping peacefully on the other side of the bed, and envied her for a moment. As messed up as her family was, at least she had one.

The Doctor seemed to be awake just like herself, but then again she had no idea how it felt when he was sleeping, how his breathing sounded then. Well, even if he had actually been asleep, now he was probably awake, for she inadvertently nudged him whilst trying to curl up on her side. The bed was just too narrow for three people.

Suddenly she had to think about the kiss again, and how safe she had felt sleeping in his arms in the Observatory.

 _Sleeping in his arms..._

Oh, she shouldn't, she really, really shouldn't. But would it really be _that_ bad? Didn't friends not sleep arm in arm every now and then? Would one more time really hurt?

 _Yes._

But it was night, it was dark, and Martha was lying next to them and she could always say in the morning she had been sleeping and not realised what she had done; that she had mistaken him for the pillow or something like that – even though at the same time she knew she most likely wouldn't be able to fool him like that.

In a sudden fit of courage she turned around and cuddled up on his side, her head resting on his chest. He stiffened and she could hear him stop breathing for a moment, then she felt how he lifted his head slightly.

 _Oh well. Not such a good idea then._

But before she could turn away again, she felt his arms around her and his fingers stroking gently over the skin on her forearms, giving her goose bumps and sending shivers down her spine.

Oh hell, it had been a bad idea, a very bad idea. But nothing in the universe would have made her turn away just now, as she was wrapped in his arms, hearing the beats of his hearts, and feeling his long, beautiful, soft fingers touching her bare skin like that.

 **...**

She literally jumped as a scream cut through the air. Not a second later she was fully awake and out of bed, following the Doctor. Behind her she could hear Martha, who had been just a bit slower.

The Doctor seemed to know where the scream had came from, as he was heading straight for Shakespeare's room. Once they had reached it, Shakespeare just lifted his head from his desk as if being asleep just a moment ago.

Her eyes fell on the innkeeper., who was lying on the floor. She didn't need to check, it was as clear to her as it could be that the poor woman was dead.

"What? What was that?" Shakespeare murmured, but she ignored him and went straight to the open window. She could still feel a strange presence lingering in the room, now fading quickly.

She could hardly trust her eyes as she stuck her head out of the window. But the cool night air hitting her face proved that she wasn't dreaming.

"Did you see that?" she asked Martha, who was standing next to her, without turning her gaze away from the silhouette disappearing in the night.

"Yeah," Martha replied.

"What did you see?" the Doctor asked as he popped up between them, staring out as well now.

"A witch," Martha said.

"Flying away, on a broomstick," she added, still finding it hard to believe. What was that, some sort of hallucination? But Martha had seen it as well, so maybe more an image, projected into their minds? But she would have noticed that. But it couldn't be an actual witch, could it?

 **…**

Later, after they had put poor Dolly's corpse on the bed in her room, where she would be prepared in the morning for her funeral, they were sitting with Shakespeare at his desk. The sun was about to rise and they were still wondering what had happened. The Doctor had said the woman's heart had simply gave up. But why?

"Oh, sweet Dolly Bailey," Shakespeare sighed. "She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place when we all ran like rats. But what could have scared her so? She had such enormous spirit."

It was clear that he had really liked her. In more than one way.

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light," the Doctor replied, his head in his hands.

He seemed to be genuinely clueless.

"I might use that," Shakespeare said, not forgetting his profession even when facing dead like that.

"You can't. It's someone else's."

"But the thing is," Martha said, ignoring all their reciting. "Lynley drowned on dry land, Dolly died of fright, and they were both connected to you."

"You're accusing me?" Shakespeare asked astonished.

"No, but Mira and I saw a witch, big as you like, flying, cackling away, and you've written about witches."

"I have? When was that?"

"Not, not quite yet," the Doctor tried to stop Martha.

"I don't think that was a witch." Mira said eventually.

"Oh? How come? So, no magic after all?" the Doctor said, turning his head to her.

He had sounded quite seriously, but she could see by the slight smirk on his face. That, and the way his eyebrow was raised, told her he was teasing her, at least a little bit.

"Didn't say that. I just said it probably wasn't a witch. Well, at least not a hum-... Not a witch from here. Maybe just from a... far off land," she replied. "Most likely from a very, very _far off land_." Her gaze fell on his hands, and suddenly it hit her. Had he been able to hear her thoughts earlier on when she had lain in his arms?

 _Please not. Oh please not. Bloody telepathy._

She could feel her face turn red, and quickly turned her head away from him.

"Peter Streete spoke of witches," thankfully Shakespeare threw in right now. She couldn't help but to think that he knew exactly what she meant by 'far off land'.

"Who's Peter Streete?" Martha asked.

"Our builder. He sketched the plans to the Globe."

"The architect. Hold on," the Doctor said and stopped, only to hit the table a moment later. "The architect!" he yelled and made her, Martha and Shakespeare jump, "The architect! The Globe! Come on!"

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

Little later they were back in the Globe. She wondered for a moment if the Doctor would ever run out of energy, but she highly doubted it. The night had been a bit too short for her liking, even though she had slept – but not really well in that hard bed.

"The columns there, right?" the Doctor asked. "Fourteen sides. I've always wondered, but I never asked. Tell me, Will. Why fourteen sides?"

"It was the shape Peter Streete thought best, that's all," Shakespeare replied. "Said it carried the sound well."

"Fourteen. Why does that ring a bell? Fourteen," the Doctor continued, looking around.

"There's fourteen lines in a sonnet," she replied, looking around as well. The Doctor was strolling around the Globe, Shakespeare standing next to her and Mira a bit away – giving the strange impression as if listening to something only she could hear, her eyes closed. She was wearing her jacket again, but her hair was still in the loose braid she had had at night, making her appear much younger than yesterday. Most likely she was something between twenty-fife and twenty-eight, Martha decided. Not as young as she looked sometimes, but younger than the Doctor, who must be in his early thirties.

"So there is, "the Doctor replied and smiled at her. "Good point. Words and shapes following the same design. Fourteen lines, fourteen sides, fourteen facets. Oh, my head. Tetradecagon. Think, think, think!" He strolled around now, hitting his head and ruffling his hair. "Words, letters, numbers, lines!"

"This is just a theatre," Shakespeare shrugged.

"Oh yeah, but a theatre's magic, isn't it?" the Doctor said, full of enthusiasm. "You should know. Stand on this stage, say the right words with the right emphasis a the right time," he continued, knocked on the stage and then swung around to them again. "Oh, you can make men weep, or cry with joy. Change them. You can change people's minds just with words in this place." His voice got quieter, as if something was dawning on him. "But if you exaggerate that..."

"It's like your police box. Small wooden box with all that power inside," she said, fully caught by his enthusiasm.

"Oh. Oh, Martha Jones, I like you," he said, making her heart jump.

"Seems we found our generator then, hm?" Mira asked, appearing next to Shakespeare.

Obviously she was done with whatever she had been doing.

"Yupp, seems so," the Doctor said. "Tell you what, though. Peter Streete would know for certain. Can I talk to him?"

"You won't get an answer," Shakespeare said, "A month after finishing this place, lost his mind."

"Why? What happened?" she asked.

"Started raving about witches, hearing voices, babbling. His mind was addled."

"Where is he now?" the Doctor wanted to know.

"Bedlam," Shakespeare said as if that would need no further explanation.

"What's Bedlam?" she asked, suddenly realising what it meant to be from a different time. It was not only the obvious things that were different here, but also those small things, common knowledge, common vocabulary and all that stuff.

"Bethlem Hospital. The madhouse," Shakespeare replied seriously.

"We're going to go there. Right now. Come on," the Doctor said and was already on his way.

"Wait!" Shakespeare yelled, "I'm coming with you. I want to witness this at first hand."

He only stopped shortly to speak to two men who had just entered, "Ralph, the last scene as promised. Copy it, hand it round, learn it, speak it. Back before curtain up. And remember, kid, project. Eyes and teeth. You never know, the Queen might turn up. As if. She never does."

Not much later they were back out on the street.

"So, tell me of Freedonia, where women can be doctors, writers, actors," Shakespeare suddenly said to her with a flirty tone in his voice.

"This country's ruled by a woman," she replied, as flirty as him.

"Ah, she's royal. That's God's business. Though you are a royal beauty."

"Whoa, Nelly. I know for a fact you've got a wife in the country," she replied, slightly shocked.

Well, not really shocked, but what was she doing here? Flirting with Shakespeare, a man long dead, one of the biggest writers ever. She suddenly realised she would not give all that up easily. Him – the Doctor – this whole time travel thing, everything. She wanted stay for more than one trip, and she would find a way to convince him. And even though he seemed to have more eyes for Mira than for her, there was a chance that that would change over time. Maybe they just got separated, maybe he only needed a little more time.

"But Martha, this is Town," he replied with an irresistible smile.

But before she could answer, she heard the Doctor say, "Come on. We can all have a good flirt later."

"Is that a promise, Doctor?" Shakespeare asked, only halfway serious.

"Oh, fifty seven academics just punched the air. Now move!"

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

They had almost reached the hospital, as Mira suddenly stopped in her tracks. As he looked at her he saw that her brows were furrowed, almost as if she was having a headache.

 _Oh right._

He looked from her to the hospital and back at her. Well, probably not the best place to go for an empath, was it?

"You want to wait outside? No need for you to go in...," he said softly, ignoring the looks Martha and Shakespeare shot them.

"Nah, I'm fine. I'm coming with you," she said. "I just needed a moment to... sort it all. It's okay now."

"Sure?"

"Yes."

Soon later the Keeper led them through the corridors. It hadn't been to hard to convince him, he had just shown his psychic paper and demanded to speak to Peter Streete. He shot a quick look at his companions. Martha seemed genuinely shocked, which was no surprise. Shakespeare tried to hide his feelings, but he could tell that he didn't like it in here. Mira was staring straight ahead into space, but as far as he could tell she kept herself together quite well. He could think of quite a few non-empathic people who would have fled once they've heard the screams of the poor people locked up in here.

"Does my Lord Doctor wish some entertainment while he waits?" The Keeper asked. "I'd whip these madmen. They'll put on a good show for you. Mad dog in Bedlam."

"No, I don't!" he said determined. Humans. For a species so capable of compassion, they sometimes showed an irritating absence of exactly that skill.

"Well, wait here, my lords, while I make him decent for the ladies," he said and walked away.

"So this is what you call a hospital, yeah?" Martha addressed Shakespeare. "Where the patients are whipped to entertain the gentry? And you put your friend in here?"

"Oh, it's all so different in Freedonia."

"But you're clever. Do you honestly think this place is any good?"

"I've been mad. I've lost my mind," he replied, "Fear of this place set me right again. It serves its purpose."

"Mad in what way?" Martha asked in disbelieve.

"You had a son, hadn't you? And he died," Mira said, even though she obviously couldn't be sure it was the same here as in her universe.

"My only boy. The Black Death took him. I wasn't even there," Shakespeare replied with grief in his voice.

"I didn't know. I'm sorry," Martha said compassionate.

"It made me question everything. The futility of this fleeting existence. To be or not to be. Oh, that's quite good," Shakespeare said.

"You should write that down," he suggested. It was high time for Will to write Hamlet.

"Maybe not. A bit pretentious?" Shakespeare asked, just as the Keeper came back.

"This way, my lord!"

They followed him into a dirty cell. On a cot, with his back to them, was sitting a man, obviously Peter Streete.

"They can be dangerous, my lord. Don't know their own strength," the Keeper said.

"I think it helps if you don't whip them. Now get out!" he said, almost yelled, at the Keeper, who finally seemed to get it and left without another word.

Then he joined Mira who was already crouching in front of Peter, trying to catch is eyes, but without any success so far.

"Peter? Peter Streete?" he asked quietly.

"He's the same as he was. You'll get nothing out of him," Shakespeare, who was standing next to the door with Martha, said.

"Some sort of post-hypnotic block?" Mira said and continued as he nodded, "Bloody botchers, whoever's responsible for that."

"Peter?" he said again, this time touching Peter's shoulder.

Peter raised his had and stared at him. He could see the confusion and pain in his eyes, as well as fear. He must have been quite an intelligent man, before who ever was responsible for this had got hold of him.

He lifted his hands and put his fingers on Peter's temples. Immediately he could feel what he had seen in his eyes a moment ago. He also felt that Mira was right, someone actually had blocked his memories. Or maybe even deleted them, but not for good, which was somehow the same as simply blocking them. Anyway, he most likely could restore them, even though he doubted that poor Peter would ever be back to his old self again.

"Peter, I'm the Doctor," he said calmly. "Go into the past. One year ago. Let your mind go back. Back to when everything was fine and shining. Everything that happened in this year since happened to somebody else. It was just a story. A Winter's Tale. Let go. That's it." He could feel Peter's thoughts getting slightly clearer and some of the memories coming back, but, of course, still not very sorted. "That's it, just let go," he laid him down on his cod. "Tell me the story, Peter. Tell me about the witches."

"Witches spoke to Peter. In the night, they whispered. They whispered. Got Peter to build the Globe to their design. Their design! The fourteen walls. Always fourteen. When the work was done they snapped poor Peter's wits," he said whilst waving with his hands through the air.

"Where did Peter see the witches? Where in the city? Peter, tell me. You've got to tell me where were they?" he urged, trying to get through to him. Maybe his condition would further improve over time, but he needed the answers right now.

"Doctor," Mira whispered, but he just shook his head at her. Not now.

"All Hallows Street," Peter said.

"Too many words," he suddenly heard a voice next to him, making him jump backwards.

"What the hell?" Martha asked.

He stared at the old woman who had suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Mira was still standing between him and her, but only shook of his hand as he tried to pull her away.

"Just one touch of the heart," the old hag said, and touched Peter's chest.

"No!" he yelled, suddenly knowing what she was doing.

"Witch! I'm seeing a witch!" Shakespeare stated. Well, another inspiration for him then.

"No need to yell like that," Mira said without taking her eyes from the old woman. "I doubt she's able to do more than lid a match stick right now. I have to say, impressive trick with that teleportation."

"That you tried to disturb? With little success, I might say."

"Well, at least you didn't manage to kill him," Mira replied, pointing at Peter who was lying unconscious on his cot.

"Only a matter of time 'till I'll regain my strength. Now, who would be next, hmm? Just one touch. Oh, oh, I'll stop your frantic hearts. Poor, fragile mortals."

Well, now he was getting what was happening. Mira had tried to warn him, and she had obviously tried to interfere with the teleportation of that creature somehow. Could she block teleportation as well? Well, she had said she could interfere with any psychic abilities. And now that he was concentrating on it, he could feel the psychic energy that filled the air. The energy of that 'witch' as well as Mira's. Why had he never fully noticed _how_ strong she really was? Maybe because she had played it down, at least in his presence. But, unfortunately, the witch seemed to be stronger, and he wondered how much longer Mira would be able to stop her from killing someone.

"Let us out! Let us out!" Martha yelled.

"That's not going to work. The whole building's shouting that," he casually said to her whilst still thinking about a way to escape.

"Who will die first, hmm?"

"Well, if you're looking for volunteers...," he replied.

He had to play for time. It was all connected somehow, but he wasn't getting it yet.

"No! Don't!" he heard Martha begging.

"Doctor, can you stop her?" Shakespeare asked.

"No mortal has power over me," the witch declared.

He heard Mira laughing dryly. "Oh well, shit happens! I guess that's the day you'll finally meet your master!"

"Oh we'll see. I guess you're the first one I kill once I have my powers back. Once you're exhausted," the witch said to Mira, but he couldn't help to notice that she appeared to shrink under Mira's words. Shrink literally, if only a few millimetres.

 _Words! That's it!_

"You should listen to her," he said to the witch. "Because there definitely is a power in words. If I can find the right one. If I can just know you."

"None on Earth has knowledge of us."

"Then it's a good thing I'm here. Now think, think, think. Humanoid female, uses shapes and words to channel energy. Ah! Fourteen! That's it! Fourteen!" he yelled and pointed at the creature. "The fourteen stars of the Rexel planetary configuration! Creature, I name you Carrionite!"

The creature screamed and finally vanished in a flash of light.

"You're alright?" he hurried over to Mira.

"Yeah. Great. Did you have to send her back before we had a chance to question her? Now we can go search for her."

"Question her? How much longer do you think you could have stopped her from killing someone?"

"Oh, well, some-"

"What did you do?" Martha interrupted them.

"I named her. The power of a name. That's old magic."

"But there's no such thing as magic," Martha said, now all confused.

"Well, it's just a different sort of science. You lot, you chose mathematics. Given the right string of numbers, the right equation, you can split the atom. Carrionites use words instead."

"Use them for what?" Shakespeare wanted to know.

"The end of the world."

* * *

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	63. Chapter 63 - The Shakespeare Code Pt 3

**Chapter LXIII**

 _Martha's POV_

They were back at Shakespeare's room – she still couldn't think of him as 'Will', even though the Doctor had called him that – and talking about their latest discoveries. For her there was almost too much new information. Carrionites, Mira's talking about teleportation and how she had tried to disturb it. And what had she meant with 'Shit happens', as the witch had declared that no mortal had power over her? Who was she? Well, despite claiming it, certainly not human. Even the canners of the Judoon had confirmed that. Maybe she should just ask her later. But she wasn't sure she would find the courage to do that, and it would make her appear incredibly nosy, wouldn't it? Plus, there was something about that other woman. Something almost daunting and intimidating. Not in a violent, evil way, but still, she felt it would keep her from asking Mira anything.

"The Carrionites disappeared way back at the dawn of the universe," the Doctor said whilst pacing through the room. "Nobody was sure if they were real or legend."

"Well, I'm going for real," Shakespeare said and dried his face.

"But what do they want?" she asked.

"A new empire on Earth. A world of bones and blood and witchcraft," the Doctor replied, making her shiver.

"But why Earth, of all planets?" Mira asked. She had looked out of the window but turned around now. "What do they want with some rather unimportant planet?"

"I think the most important question right now is: How," the Doctor replied. "And I'm looking at the man with the words."

"Me?" Shakespeare said, visibly shocked. "But I've done nothing."

Well, he was somehow involved in it, they just had to find out how.

"Hold on, though," she said, "What were you doing last night, when that Carrionite was in the room?"

"Finishing the play."

"What happens on the last page?" the Doctor asked.

She couldn't help but she felt her heart warm up as she was obviously on the right track and he was following it. How to impress guys with brain? Right. With brain.

"The boys get the girls. They have a bit of a dance. It's all as funny and thought provoking as usual. Except those last few lines. Funny thing is, I don't actually remember writing them."

"That's it," the Doctor suddenly yelled. "They used you. They gave you the final words like a spell, like a code. Love's Labours Won. It's a weapon. The right combination of words, spoken at the right place, with the shape of the Globe as an energy converter! The play's the thing! And yes, you can have that."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He had found some road map. It was anything but accurate, but it would have to do.

"All Hallows Street," he said and pointed at the map. "There it is. Mira, Martha, we'll track them down. Will, you get to the Globe. Whatever you do, stop that play."

He looked at Shakespeare intently and considered for a moment to send Mira along with him. Or, more likely, to ask her if she wanted to go with him, but then decided against it. He would probably need her when confronting the Carrionites.

"I'll do it. All these years I've been the cleverest man around. Next to you, I know nothing," Shakespeare replied.

"Oh, don't complain," Martha said.

"I'm not. It's marvellous. Good luck, Doctor."

"Good luck, Shakespeare," he replied and hurried out of the door. "Once more unto the breach."

"I like that. Wait a minute, that's one of mine," he heard Shakespeare say.

"Oh, just shift!" he urged him, poking his head once more through the door.

Once outside, it didn't take him too long to find the right street.

"All Hallows Street, but which house?" he asked and looked around.

"One moment, I should be able to sense them," Mira said and turned her head around as if listening to something. Well, somehow she was. Something only she could 'hear'.

"The thing is, though am I missing something here?" Martha said suddenly. "The world didn't end in 1599. It just didn't. Look at me. I'm living proof."

 _Here we go again._

He scratched his neck. It was a good thing that humans were so full of questions, but how should he explain something they basically couldn't understand, no matter how hard they tried?

"Oh, how to explain the mechanics of the infinite temporal flux?" He murmured. "I know. Back to the Future. It's like Back to the Future," he continued and looked at Martha.

"The film?"

"No, the novelization," he said, slightly impatient now. Humans. "Yes, the film. Marty McFly goes back and changes history."

"And he starts fading away. Oh my God, am I going to fade? Are we both fading away?" Martha asked and turned her head to Mira.

"Nah, not me," Mira said absent mindedly. "Different Earth, different timeline."

"You and the entire future of the human race," he hurried to say before Martha would come up with more questions about different worlds and timelines. He could read in her face that she was about to do exactly that. "It ends right now in 1599 if we don't stop it. But which house?"

"Found it," Mira said and pointed at a house, just as its door creaked open.

What an invitation, he thought.

"Ah. Make that _witch_ house," he said and went to the door without hesitation.

They went upstairs and into a room which could be directly penned by Shakespeare. Everything screamed witchcraft, from the weird objects on the tables, the cauldron, to the woman dressed in black who looked at him expectantly.

"I take it we're expected," he said.

"Oh, I think Death has been waiting for you a very long time," she hissed at him. "Even longer for you," she added and turned her gaze to Mira, who was standing next to him. " _What_ are you? You somehow smell human, and yet you don't, at the same time. Some might call you an abomination. Or a _witch_."

"I've been called many things in my live. Got boring after a hundred years or so. People just don't come up with anything new," Mira replied.

The Carrionite stepped closer to Mira, watched her up and down and walked back to where she had been standing before. "Doesn't matter anyway. "

"Right then, it's my turn," Martha said, and he knew exactly what she was trying to do now. "I know how to do this." She stepped past him and Mira, pointed her finger at the Carrionite and said, "I name thee Carrionite!"

But nothing happened, apart from the mocked surprised face the Carrionite was pulling.

"What did I do wrong? Was it the finger?"

"The power of a name works only once," the witch said. "Observe. I gaze upon this bag of bones and now I name thee Martha Jones."

"Oh no, not really," Mira simply said, and indeed, nothing happened.

This time, the surprised look on the Carrionite's face wasn't mocked at all, and even Martha looked quite shocked.

"So, you really think you're stronger than I am?" the Carrionite hissed at her.

"No. I _know_ it, actually," Mira replied, just as he tucked her at the sleeve, to remind her to be carefully. Who knew what else that Carrionite had in store..

"Oh, so self-assured? I'm not even sure it was you who saved that girl. The name has less impact. She's somehow out of her time," the Carrionite said, then turned to him. "And as for you, Sir Doctor. Fascinating. There is no name. Why would a man hide his title in such despair? Oh, but look. There's still one word with the power that aches."

"The naming won't work on me," he said coldly.

"But your heart grows cold. The north wind blows and carries down the distant Rose."

"Oh, you're a bit late for that," he replied.

There had been a time when that name would have hurt, but that was gone. Maybe it had already been gone with his last regeneration, he suddenly realised. "More interesting: The Carrionites vanished. Where did you go?" he added.

"The Eternals found the right word to banish us into deep darkness."

"And how did you escape?"

"New words. New and glittering, from a mind like no other."

"Shakespeare."

"His son perished. The grief of a genius. Grief without measure. Madness enough to allow us entrance."

"How many of you?" he asked.

"Just the three. But the play tonight shall restore the rest. Then the human race will be purged as pestilence. And from this world we will lead the universe back into the old ways of blood and magic."

"Nice plan," Mira said. "Even though I still don't understand that whole 'rule the universe' thing. Don't you think it'll get incredibly boring pretty soon?"

"Well, she first has got to get past us anyway," he said.

"Oh, that should be a pleasure, considering my enemy has such a handsome shape," the Carrionite replied, approached him until she was merely inches away from his face and ran a hand over his cheek.

"Now, that's one form of magic that's definitely not going to work on me," he said, without stepping away.

"Oh, I already sensed that there's someone else whose _magic_ is working on you," she replied and took a step back. "It was worth a try, though."

Suddenly, she reached under her cape and then hold up her hand. It was seemingly empty, but he could see exactly what she was holding between her fingers. It was a hair. A long, very long, brown hair, shimmering slightly reddish in the dim light. One of Mira's. And she had obviously seen it as well.

"Where the hell did you get that from?" Mira demanded to know.

"Souvenir," the Carrionite said with a somehow evil smile.

"Give it back!" Mira yelled, apparently realising that it was more than some fallen out hair, and ran towards her; but she was too slow.

The Carrionite had already flown out of the window as Mira reached it, hovering in the air, out of her reach.

"Well, that's just cheating," he said as he had reached Mira's side. He had a vague idea what the Carrionite wanted with that hair, and that was not good. Not good at all Then it would come down to technology, and that was nothing Mira could defend herself against, unlike the psychic abilities the Carrionites were possessing.

"Behold, Doctor. You will see," the witch said, produced a wooden doll from her pockets and wrapped the hair around.

"Now, you might call that magic. I'd call that a DNA replication module!" he said.

"What use is your psychic power now?" the Carrionite ignored him and asked Mira, before she stabbed the doll.

At the same moment Mira screamed as if being stabbed – well, actually she _was_ being stabbed – and collapsed. He managed to catch her and laid her gently down on the floor.

 _No. Please not._

That witch had aimed for her heart, and she had been right – there was no way for Mira to protect herself. But she couldn't be dead. She just couldn't. At the same time he knew how weak and fragile the human physiology was. There was no hope left.

"What's with her?" he heard Martha as if from a distance, even though she was crouching down opposite to him, on Mira's other side. "She didn't kill her, did she?" Martha continued and reached for Mira's neck.

It was then when he snapped out of the numbness that had befallen him for a moment. And then he realised it. He put his fingers on Mira's neck before Martha could reach her. He could feel it, just as he had heard it the whole time. Faint, slow and somehow weak, but he could feel her heartbeat. She was not dead. Not yet at least. He had no idea how she could still be alive, but they had to get back to the TARDIS. But then the Carrionites would win. Was that what the witch had wanted? Just weaken her enough so he would have to decide if he would stop them and let her die, or save her and sacrifice humanity? As this dawned on him, he felt completely paralysed.

"What's wrong with her?" Martha asked.

He looked up and met Martha's eyes. She would vanish. Everyone would vanish. Every human he had ever known who was born after 1599. There was no way he could sacrifice them all to save one. But...

Right at this moment Mira opened her eyes.

"Oh, welcome back," Martha said with a big smile and grabbed her wrist. "Your pulse seems fine, at least when you actually are human. She really knocked you out that witch, didn't she?"

"What?" was all he could say. Impossible. Just impossible.

"I think it's time for witch-hunt now," Mira murmured, still obviously quite dizzy and tried to get up.

"Oh no, no, not so fast!" he said, slowly overcoming his surprise.

He held her down at the shoulder with one hand and took the sonic screwdriver from his pocket with the other. He scanned her, but he couldn't see any sign of damage. No internal injuries, nothing.

"But-"

"What? Just tell me what's wrong," she said. "At least I feel not like dying, so it can't be-"

"You're not dying. She stabbed you in the heart, but-"

"Yeah, I felt that. Nothing I need again any time soon. What did you say was that thing she used?" Mira said and finally sat up, as he wasn't trying to hold her down any more.

"DNA replication module?" he said, still slightly baffled by the whole situation. "But how? She stabbed you. Just like Lynley."

"Oh," she said and grabbed that egg-shaped device she was wearing around her neck, seemingly unconsciously. "Superior technology, I guess."

"What? How?" he asked.

"Later. As said, high time for witch-hunt," she said grimly and finally got up.

He had to support her for a moment, but then she stood steadily on her own feed. For a moment he caught Martha's glance, telling her that she had no idea what was going on. Well, that would have to wait as well.

"Come on then," he said, "The Globe!"

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She was still feeling a bit shaky as she followed the Doctor and Martha out of the house. Not so much because she was feeling physically ill, but because of how close it had just been. Well, it had been close before, but this time it had really felt like dying, at least like she thought dying would feel like.

"We're going the wrong way!" she heard Martha yell.

"Yeah," she said after getting her bearings. "We're wrong!"

"No, we're not!" the Doctor said, only to turn around a few moments later. "We're going the wrong way!"

By the time the got near the Globe, she could already see a red whirl above it, almost like fireflies over a bonfire.

"I told thee so! I told thee!" the preacher from earlier said, and Mira wondered for a moment if he would ever sleep or leave his place.

"Stage door!" the Doctor said and she followed him with Martha.

She could feel the chaos and panic inside the Globe before they entered. The audience was trying to run, but the witches had somehow shut and blocked the door. So the only way in was actually the stage door. She just hoped there would be no deaths because of the panic.

Once inside, they found Shakespeare lying on the floor, just coming round again.

"Stop the play," the Doctor yelled at him, not losing a single second. "I think that was it. Yeah, I said, stop the play!"

"I hit my head," Shakespeare said weakly.

"It was them, it's not his fault!" she said to the Doctor. He could really get a bit nasty when he was stressed.

"Yeah, I know," he said, and then to Shakespeare, "Don't rub it, you'll go bald."

Suddenly, the audience started to scream even louder. "I think that's my cue!" he said and ran off.

She followed him, hoping that Martha would do the same – although, probably it was better for her to stay here backstage. But when they reached the stage, she could see that Martha – and Shakespeare – were with them.

"Come on, Will! History needs you!" The Doctor said to Shakespeare.

"But what can I do?"

"Reverse it!"

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"The shape of the Globe gives words power, but you're the wordsmith, the one true genius," the Doctor tried to encourage him. "The only man clever enough to do it."

"But what words? I have none ready!"

"Well then improvise, God damn it!" she said to Shakespeare, who looked quite shocked. Well, not really an appropriate language for a woman at this time, she thought.

"You're William Shakespeare!" the Doctor fell in.

"But these Carrionite phrases, they need such precision."

"Trust yourself," the Doctor said. "When you're locked away in your room, the words just come, don't they, like magic. Words of the right sound, the right shape, the right rhythm. Words that last forever. That's what you do, Will. You choose perfect words. Do it."

Finally Shakespeare stepped forward.

"Close up this din of hateful, dire decay, decomposition of your witches' plot. You thieve my brains, consider me your toy. My doting Doctor tells me I am not!" he said, first slightly unsure, but becoming more and more certain with each word. "Foul Carrionite spectres, cease your show! Between the points-"

"Seven six one three nine oh!" the Doctor whispered to him.

"Seven six one three nine oh!", Shakespeare continued. "Banished like a tinker's cuss, I say to thee"

"Expelliarmus!" Martha, the Doctor, Shakespeare and she herself said as once.

"Good old JK!" the Doctor added.

The Carrionites screamed inhumanely, as they were sucked – along with the pages of Loves Labour's Won – into a tornado, rotating in the middle of the Globe.

"Love's Labours Won. There it goes," she heard the Doctor say next to her ear.

And suddenly, the sky cleared with a flash and a bang. For a few moments, there was nothing but silence – silence that almost hurt the ears after all that noise. Then, someone started clapping, and soon everyone joined in.

 _What the hell?_

Instead of screaming and running for their lives, they were clapping?

"They think it was all special effects?" Martha said, as baffled as she was.

"Your effect is special indeed," Shakespeare said and turned to Martha with a smile that left no room for interpretation.

"It's not your best line," Martha replied nonchalantly.

Suddenly she felt how the Doctor took her hand and pulled her with him – up to the balconies where he grabbed a crystal.

"There they are," he said and showed it to her.

Inside it, she could see all three of them scratching at the glass to get at him.

"They're stuck in there?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"For ever?"

"Well, unless someone lets them out, I suppose so..."

 _Well. If there ever was a fate worse than death..._

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

At the next morning they were back at the Globe, of course with Shakespeare. Mira and the Doctor were somewhere else, a fact that slightly bothered her. What was between him and her? Maybe she should just ask. Ask Mira, how long they have been together, or something like that. Something you would ask in a casual conversation.

"And I say, a heart for a hart and a dear for a deer," Shakespeare just said, trying to tell her a joke.

"I don't get it," she said.

"Then give me a joke from Freedonia."

"Okay, Shakespeare walks into a pub and the landlord says, Oi mate, you're Bard."

"That's brilliant," he replied. "Doesn't make sense, mind you, but never mind that. Now come here."

Suddenly he put his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him. Okey, that was slightly too fast for her taste. Then again, the Doctor had kissed her after knowing him for only a few hours, but that had been different. And, besides, he had slightly different hygienic standards.

"I've only just met you," she said and freed herself.

"The Doctor may never kiss you," he replied, making her feel as if hit by a bucket of cold water. How in hell would he know such things? "Why not entertain a man who will?" he added.

"I don't know how to tell you this, oh great genius, but your breath doesn't half stink," she said, and thankfully the Doctor and Mira came back, hopefully keeping Shakespeare from any more 'attacks'.

"Good props store back there," the Doctor said, wearing a small stiff ruff and an animal skull. "I'm not sure about this though. Reminds me of a Sycorax."

"Sycorax. Nice word. I'll have that off you as well," Shakespeare said.

"I should be on ten percent. How's your head?" the Doctor replied.

"Still aching."

"Here, I got you this," the Doctor said and gave the ruff to him. "Neck brace. Wear that for a few days till it's better, although you might want to keep it. It suits you."

"What about the play?" she asked.

"Gone," the Doctor said. "I looked all over. Every single copy of Love's Labours Won went up in the sky."

"There it should stay," Mira said darkly.

"My lost masterpiece."

"You could write it up again," she said before fully realising what she had just suggested.

"Yeah, better not, Will," the Doctor said immediately. "There's still power in those words. Maybe it should best stay forgotten."

"Oh, but I've got new ideas. Perhaps it's time I wrote about fathers and sons, in memory of my boy, my precious Hamnet."

"Hamnet?" she said utterly surprised, together with Mira.

"That's him."

"Hamnet?" she repeated.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Anyway, time we were off," the Doctor said. "I've got a nice attic in the TARDIS where this lot can scream for all eternity, and I've got to take Martha back to Freedonia."

"You mean travel on through time and space," Shakespeare said.

"You what?" the Doctor said, utterly dumbfounded.

"You're from another world like the Carrionites, and Martha is from the future. And as for Lady Mira, she's from the future as well. It's not hard to work out. But you're not able to bring her back "That's incredible," the Doctor said. "You are incredible. And yes, you're right, I'm afraid."

Slowly but surely she deserved some answers, she was thinking. Where was Mira from? She shot her a quick look and noticed the sadness that past over the face of the other woman for a short moment.

"We're alike in many ways, Doctor." Shakespeare said. "Martha, let me say goodbye to you in a new verse. A sonnet for my Dark Lady. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate-" Shakespeare started.

Really? She had inspired him to those verses? Suddenly the two guys who had been in his room when they had entered the Inn for the first time appeared.

"Will, you'll never believe it. She's here! She's turned up!" one of them said.

"We're the talk of the town," the other added. "She heard about last night. She wants us to perform it again."

"Who?" she asked, having no idea whom they were talking about.

"Her Majesty. She's here," he said, and just now a fanfare sounded.

Elizabeth, definitely nearing the end of her live, entered, accompanied by two pikemen.

"Queen Elizabeth the First!" the Doctor said enthusiastically.

"Doctor?" the Queen replied, rather angry.

"What?"

"My sworn enemy."

"What?"

"Off with his head!"

"What?!"

"Never mind what, just run!," she said. "See you, Will, and thanks."

And off they went, the Doctor, Mira, and her.

"Stop that pernicious Doctor," she heard the Queen, but didn't dare to turn around.

No need for that anyway, she could hear the pikemen chasing them.

"Stop in the name of the Queen!"

"What have you done this time?" Mira asked. "You're not good with queens, are you?"

"How should I know? Haven't even met her yet. Still, can't wait to find out."

They finally reached the TARDIS and he shoved her inside, followed by Mira.

"That's something to look forward to. Ooh!" she heard him say, and he shut the door. Not a second too soon, she had seen the archer aiming at them as well. With a hollow knock she could hear the arrow hitting the door.

* * *

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	64. Chapter 64 - No Place Like Home

**Chapter LXIV**

 _Mira's POV_

"So," she heard the Doctor say. He was on the console, obviously setting course to somewhere – Earth most likely, that much she was able to tell by know from his movements and the buttons he was pressing. Some, actually: most of his actions still remained a mystery to her, even though she had the sneaking suspicion that not everything he was doing with the console was necessary; probably just a ritual to keep him busy – some people were checking the oxygen levels every ten minutes, or recalibrating the frequencies of the radio, switching electronics from one circuit to another in redundant systems, stuff like that, to keep their fingers busy. "I guess it's time to get you back home. Heard you have to learn for your exams, sorting out the things in your family?"

Martha turned her head to him, and she could clearly feel the disappointment and the nagging feeling of rejection from her. Well, he had said it would only be this one trip, but still. She clearly had hoped he would think again about that, but it didn't look like it right now. Why was he doing that? Martha was a nice girl – okay, she had a crush on him, but had he noticed that? And it had taken him quite a while to come to a decision with Rose regarding _that_ topic. Anyway, she only knew one thing: She couldn't stay alone with him in the TARDIS with no one to hide behind. No one who she could use as a distraction when the conversation threatened to become too personal.

 _Bitch_. _Selfish bitch._

She herself, not Martha. She almost couldn't believe that she was thinking about using Martha merely as a distraction. But, on the other hand, she had always been honest with herself and her motivations, even with the most nastiest ones. (Not that it had ever prevented her from rushing deliberately to her doom) Yes, it was nasty and unfair, and yet she most likely would try to keep Martha here anyway. Not that Martha really was on the losing side. She would see things hardly any human of her time would ever see. Yes, she had a crush on the Doctor, but she certainly would have a lot more crushes on other people who weren't interested in her. That's life. She was sure Martha could handle it, she seemed a lot more mature than Rose.

"Well, we have been to the past. And on the Moon," she said before Martha could protest. "But what about the future before we go back to Earth? Or another planet? I wanted to go to another planet anyway, before we- Before Skaro."

She locked eyes with him and got the feeling that this was one of the rare moments where she could actually read his face. He was about to say no, to come up with some excuse, she was almost certain about that. And again it almost drove her crazy that she had so no idea what was going on in his head, just like the first night in that Inn. Why had he not only laid his arms round her, but stroked her like that? It would be so much easier if he would just ignore her. And why the hell was she thinking about his fingers touching the inner sides of her forearm just _now_?

"Uh, well-" he started.

"No complains from me," Martha hurried to say. "As you said, it's a time machine. I won't lose any time for my exams, will I?"

"Uhm, no, but-"

"Well, let's have some breakfast and talk about it then, hm? At least I'm definitely in for a coffee," she said and saw Martha nodding eagerly.

"Definitely coffee," Martha agreed.

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

She followed Mira down a flight of stairs and through a lot of corridors. At least it seemed to her that they were walking for quite a while, but she had to admit that she had lost orientation pretty fast. That ship must be huge.

It was a surprise for her that Mira sided with her. Was it her who had parted with him? Why was she so keen that she stayed here? Not that she had any complaints, but there must be more behind it. She looked back, but the Doctor wasn't following them. Maybe now it was a perfect time to ask a few things?

But, as they finally reached the kitchen, she completely forgot for a moment what she wanted to ask. The kitchen was _huge_. And it looked surprisingly human. She wasn't sure what she had expected – maybe something more Star Trek like, a replicator for example. Certainly not something that looked right out of any home in Britain, with fridge, hob, oven, water kettle, toaster, coffee machine, and a big dining table with comfortable chairs. It almost made her forget that she was on a space ship – wouldn't it be for those weird, round things that covered the walls even here. And of course, the slight humming that filled the air. Was it coming from the engines?

"Oh well, I just wished she wouldn't rearrange things so often," Mira murmured as she opened multiple cupboards.

Well, she would hopefully find the coffee, Martha thought and opened the fridge, only to see that it was well filled with jam, cheese, butter, eggs, milk, and everything else needed for a breakfast.

"Ouch!" she suddenly heard behind her, followed by something in a foreign language she couldn't understand. Well, there was no need for understanding the words, for the tone didn't leave much room for interpretation. She flung around only to see Mira rub her head and pick up the can with the coffee from the floor.

"Did you hurt yourself?" she asked and added as Mira shook her head, "Happens to me sometimes as well. You stuff them, slam the doors shut and the next time you get buried by all the stuff."

"It didn't fell, it was thrown!" Mira said, shooting the cupboard a deadly glance.

"Well, I didn't throw it, and I doubt you have a stowaway in your cupboard-", she tried to joke, but just at that moment she could see with her own eyes how the pack with the filters came flying out of the cupboard as well. Just this time Mira managed to duck out of the way.

"Fine, stop it. I got it!" Mira yelled, looking around as if talking to the walls.

"What-" she started, but got interrupted.

"What's going on here?" the Doctor asked as he entered the room. Well, so much for questioning Mira without him. But right now, she was still trying to get her head around that flying pack of coffee-filters.

"Your ship is throwing things at me!" Mira said accusingly, arms crossed.

"Really? Did she? Can't imagine why she'd do that," he said as innocent as possible, walked past her and filled the kettle.

"Okey," she said slowly, putting the butter on the table. Maybe it really was time for some answers. "Who is _she_?"

She watched Mira and the Doctor turn to each other for a moment, then he said, "The TARDIS. My... Ship. She sometimes does things like that." He looked at her out of huge, dark eyes, and for a moment she couldn't really be annoyed by that non-answer she got from him. The ship was throwing stuff? Sure.

Little later they were sitting on the table, having breakfast. The Doctor was actually going through the food – and he seemed to have some sweet tooth - as if there were no tomorrow, whilst Mira was only stirring a cup of coffee. She looked tired, Martha thought, but not just the sort tiredness caused by a lack of sleep. She worked in a hospital, and she had definitely seen that sort of tiredness before.

"So," she started after a while, "Then it _was_ magic in the end? Or, how you called it, psychic stuff? So that actually exists? Like teleportation, mind reading and all that?"

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He was watching Mira stirring her coffee. She didn't look good at all, and even though she tried to keep it together he could see that she was slowly but surely losing it. Maybe she was still partially in denial, but he could see silent desperation sneaking into her every movement and gesture. Seeing her like this was absolutely frightening to him; more than all screaming and crying ever could be. At first he hadn't been too sure about his observations, but it were moments like this - when she was basically doing nothing. Then he could clearly see it. She was giving up on herself, and she seemed to be determined to not let anyone – let alone him – help her.

"At least where I come from it all exists," he heard her replying to Martha's question.

"Oh, yes, another thing I wanted to ask, where are you from? My future? But another universe?" Martha asked.

"Yes," Mira replied, "There actually are countless parallel – or not so parallel in my case – universes. In mine the history of humanity took a very different turn, probably not long before you were born."

"What year then? I mean, what year is it now in your universe?"

"4197 A.D.," Mira said shortly.

He braced himself for the bunch of questions about parallel universes that certainly were about to follow, knowing Martha a little by now, but she just nodded and grabbed another slice of toast. Well, probably it was for the best to not dig deeper into that topic.

"And... You are psychic?" Martha asked eventually, breaking the silence that had fallen over the kitchen during the last minutes.

"You could say so," Mira said and poured herself another coffee.

He casually pushed the fruit-bowl in her direction. She couldn't live of coffee alone; but she ignored him.

"But," Martha continued when it became obvious that Mira wouldn't explain it any further, "You can't read my mind. Or do I have to be careful what to think?"

He could hear that she was trying to make it sound lightly, like joking, but she wasn't. There was a strain to her voice, reminding him once more that humans weren't a telepathic race, and how foreign and outright frightening the concept of having someone in their mind was for them. Understandable, as they simply didn't know how to deal with it, how to keep things to themselves, shielding parts of their little minds.

Mira simply shook her head and put some sugar in her coffee.

"So what's it then?" Martha asked, seemingly relieved. "Teleportation? Moving things with only your mind? Setting things on fire?"

Her eyes rested on Mira, who had lifted her head now, looking back at Martha instead of observing her coffee.

"Well," Mira finally said, just as he had decided to change the topic, "I can't read your mind, nor lift stuff or teleport. But I can sense the emotions of other people. Just like you can sometimes do that from looking into someone's face. But I don't have to do that. I don't even have to be in the same room. I just feel what people around me feel."

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

 _Here we go again._

She couldn't quite remember the last time she had to explain herself like that – even more so to other humans. At home, in her universe, people usually just knew her. Sometimes better, sometimes they had only vaguely heard about her or her father, but her name did have some impact there – always. Same for psychic abilities. The history of humanity, the Solar Empire, and even – to an extend - recent history was connected to the the Mutant Corps she had been a part of for so long. To Martha – just like Rose and all the rest of humanity – it all meant nothing. In that respect, it was even worse this time than the last time she had lost everyone and basically her whole life at once. At least back then she had still shared the same universe, parts of the same history with the people – humanity – when _It_ , the combined mental essence of a whole species, had taken her to the future. Not so this time. She was alone in a strange universe, with no common ground. Sure, there was Earth, but apart from that? Nothing. Even back then it had sometimes felt as if speaking a completely different language. All the references people tend to make in their sentences, comparisons, common knowledge – all that had changed over the centuries. And now it was not only centuries separating her from the other humans, it was a whole universe.

She focused on the young woman sitting next to her, to net get too lost in these thoughts, whilst gently rubbing the bump the can with the coffee had left on the back of her head. Yeah, she could very well imagine why the TARDIS was throwing things at her. Meanwhile, Martha went through all states of realisation – one didn't need to be an empath to see that. At first she was shocked, and then she obviously recalled all the moments they had spent together. Finally she blushed.

 _Yeah, you have a crush on him. Got that._

"It's no big deal, Martha," she said reassuringly. "As said, it's not like I could read your mind."

 _No, but it's just a matter of the right questions to ask and interpreting your emotional response, than it's almost as good as mind reading._

"I'm quite good at ignoring it, most of the times. So no need to worry," she added, still purposefully ignoring the fruit-bowl the Doctor had pushed in her direction. She just didn't have any appetite right now.

She just hoped that Martha wouldn't go into anything else right now. She was incredibly tired of explaining it, and suddenly felt a rush of sympathy towards the Doctor for having to explain everything – TARDIS, Psychic Paper, Sonic Screwdriver – over and over again.

"Uh, wow. You know, we have parapsychologists dealing with that stuff, but no one actually takes them seriously," Martha said finally, nervously brushing crumbs from the table on her plate.

"Yeah, we had them as well at some point," she said and tried to smile. "So, another planet then, hm?" she tried to change the topic before Martha had a chance to ask more questions, and looked over to the Doctor.

"Yeah," he said and jumped up suddenly, making her and Martha startle, "New day, new planet. Come on then."

She hurried to get up as well and follow him, as she heard from Martha behind her, "What about the dishes?"

"Ah, later."

 **…**

They caught up with him in the console room where he was running around the console.

"So, where to then?" he asked.

"Can we go to your planet?" Martha asked, making her flinch.

Basically it was an absolute obvious question. He was alien, and they were about to go to a different planet, so why not his?

"Ah, there's plenty of other places," he replied, trying to keep up the good mood he was hiding behind so often.

"Come on, though," Martha didn't let go of it, "I mean, planet of the Time Lords. That's got to be worth a look. What's it like?"

"Well, it's beautiful, yeah," he replied, and she wondered if Martha too could hear the sadness in his voice.

Probably not, as she asked, "Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?"

"I suppose it is."

"Great big temples and cathedrals!"

"Yeah," he confirmed shortly.

"Lots of planets in the sky?" Martha asked, still absolutely unaware of how painful this topic was for him.

"The sky's a burnt orange," he said after a moment of consideration, "With the Citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow."

She had to think about the reddish grass in the gardens. So it was something from his homeworld. Her next thought was about Terrania. She would probably never see it again herself. Never see its white towers gleaming red in the setting sun at dawn; or the endless stream of gliders in the air between the buildings and spires, their metal hulls reflecting the sun, looking like rivers of liquid silver from afar, running through the air. But at least in her case she knew that Earth still existed, and so did Terrania.

"Can we go there?" Martha asked once more.

"Nah," he said, his voice almost cracking, trying to wipe away every nostalgic thought he – and she – were having. "Where's the fun for me? I don't want to go home. Instead, this is much better." He began to set a course. "Year five billion and fifty-three, planet New Earth," he continued and stopped for a moment in his tracks to look Martha in the eyes. "Second hope of mankind. Fifty thousand light years from your old world, and we're slap bang in the middle of New New York. Although, technically it's the fifteenth New York from the original, so it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York. One of the most dazzling cities ever built."

 _New Earth? Why, for all planets, New Earth? Great._

* * *

 _Babypanda468, bored411, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, xXEndlessImaginationXx, Julia N SnowMiko, NeoMulder, Ronin Kenshin, AkatsukiShizu3: Thank you for leaving a review :)_

 _And everyone else for reading, following and liking!_


	65. Chapter 65 - Gridlock Pt 1

**Chapter LXV**

 _Doctor's POV_

He had noticed Mira's face as he had said they were heading to New Earth. Not too long ago she had told him in very clearly what she was thinking about that whole New-Earth-thing. But maybe she just had to see it for herself. Humanity in this universe was different from the one in hers, but that didn't necessarily need to be a bad thing.

Apart from that, New Earth was a rather beautiful planet, for human standards. Nice weather, great cities -

 _Oh well, talking about the weather..._

He had just opened the door of the TARDIS, stepped out, Mira and Martha following him and was almost instantly completely wet. It wasn't raining, it was pouring.

"Oh, that's nice. Time Lord version of dazzling," Martha said, whilst he could only hear an annoyed groan from Mira.

"Nah, bit of rain never hurt anyone. Come on, let's get under cover!" He replied, trying to sound cheerfully.

Well, it _was_ only rain, nothing that would stop them. He looked around; It all seemed a bit run-down to him, what Mira instantly confirmed.

"So, that's new Earth then? Same old run-down and shabby cheep districts, I might say," he heard her say next to him as they were walking through some small alleyways, looking out for shelter. He looked at her, and she was already dripping. Rain was streaming over her face and her hair, that was still put into a simple braid, was soaking wet. Well, she obviously had already decided to not like it.

"Well, it looks like the same old Earth to me, on a Wednesday afternoon," Martha said.

"Hold on, hold on," he said as they reached some small monitor mounted on a metal door. "Let's have a look."

After a few seconds he got it working with his sonic screwdriver, supported by slamming his fist at it several times. He took a step back to have a better view. A woman was announcing something, probably it was a news-channel.

 _"And the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey express-way."_

Now they could see a picture of Manhattan with flying cars.

"Oh, that's more like it," he said. "That's the view we had last time. This must be the lower levels, down in the base of the tower. Some sort of under-city."

"Well, at least they have gliders here now," Mira said.

"Gliders? Those flying-" he replied, but got interrupted by Martha.

"You've brought me to the slums?" she asked, disbelievingly.

"Much more interesting," he replied with a shrug. "It's all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city."

"Yeah, if you're in for drugs, crime, fights, and-" Mira said but suddenly stopped as he softly nudged her in the side with his elbow.

"Don't be so negative!" he said.

"Oh, but you'd enjoy anything," Martha throw in before Mira could say anything.

"That's me," he replied. "Ah, the rain's stopping. Better and better."

"Yeah, now that we're already drenched...," Mira mumbled under her breath.

"When you say last time, was that the two of you?" Martha asked.

"Er, well... No. It was with Rose actually. Shortly before I met Mira," he said. It seemed like an eternity ago now, a whole different time. He was still figuring out his new regeneration, everything with Rose had been fine, and-

 _That's not true and you know it._

Well, at least he could see it now, and yes, maybe, most likely, he had known it back then. He had searched for something in Rose she could never give him.

"So you're taking all your female _friends_ to the same planets?" Martha asked, and he noticed the undertone in her voice very well.

"What's wrong with that?" he asked innocently. No need to go down that road _now_. After all, it was Mira's doing that Martha was still here.

"Nothing. Just ever heard the word rebound?" Martha said casually, looking the other way.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She hated this planet from the moment she had set foot on it. The rain didn't make it any better, neither did the cheerfulness the Doctor tried to fake (Well, she was at least almost certain he was faking it this time), nor Martha's attempts to flirt with him. (Even though that was exactly why she wanted Martha with them) For her New Earth was not a new beginning but treachery. There was only one Earth, and nothing could ever replace it. What was left of a people who had forgotten where they came from? Forgotten all their past? And _that_ was exactly what would happen. And even though the Doctor might be right that everything ended, that everything had its time, she just couldn't get her head around it. She herself had just lost her entire past, her history – for the second time now. Right now it didn't matter that it was all still there, just in another universe. For her it was as good as destroyed, and with it every one remembering it; everyone but her, making it all feel like some sort of story, a fairytale.

The sudden fear of forgetting it all, of forgetting the people she had left behind and having nothing to remind her struck her. What _if_? What if she would ever forget? What if she had to stay here for the next hundred, two-hundred years or more, slowly forgetting faces, people, and finally her own life? She drew a deep breath and tried to brush that thought – which felt as irrational and overwhelming like an oncoming panic-attack – aside.

Maybe it really was a blessing that humans had a relatively short live expectancy. It would only take two or three generations, and no one would cry a tear after Earth any more. It clearly was her standing out, bringing it to her mind involuntarily how much she has grown apart from the rest of her species.

Suddenly, the front of one of the little shacks flew open.

"Oh! You should have said," a woman who stuck out her head yelled, "How long you been there? Happy. You want Happy."

As if he had given some sort of signal, more and more hatches flew open.

"Customers. Customers! We've got customers!"

"We're in business. Mother, open up the Mellow, and the Read."

"Happy, Happy, lovely happy Happy!"

"Anger. Buy some Anger!"

"Get some Mellow. Makes you feel all bendy and soft all day long."

"Don't go to them," the first man said now, "They'll rip you off. Do you want some happy?"

"No, thanks," the Doctor said, and she could hear a slight anger in his voice.

"Are they selling drugs?" Martha asked now.

"Guess what," she said, because it was more than obvious.

"I think they're selling moods," the Doctor said.

"Well, same difference," she replied dryly.

Now, as if they had been waiting for it, more people were coming, all dressed quite poorly.

"Over here, sweetheart! That's it, come on, I'll get you first!" one of the dealers said.

"Oi! Oi, you! Over here! Over here! Buy some Happy!" the woman who had opened her shop first didn't give up. "Come over here, yeah. And what can I get you, my love?" she said to a young woman.

"I want to buy Forget," the woman replied quietly.

Now Mira could clearly feel the sadness coming from that young woman, the kind of inconsolable, grief-stricken sadness that came from losing someone dear.

"I've got Forget, my darling. What strength? How much do you want forgetting?" the dealer asked.

"It's my mother and father. They went on the motorway," the woman replied.

She had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but to the dealer it seemed quite obvious.

"Oh, that's a swine. Try this. Forget Forty three. That's two credits," the dealer said and handed her a little patch.

"Sorry, but hold on a minute," the Doctor said and hurried over to the young woman. "What happened to your parents?"

"They drove off."

"Yeah, but they might drive back," he said.

"Everyone goes to the motorway in the end. I've lost them," the woman replied sadly.

What was she talking about? Was motorway some sort of euphemism when someone died?

"But they can't have gone far," the Doctor didn't give up. "You could find them. No. No, no, don't!"

But he was too late. The woman had already stuck the patch she just bought to her neck. It was amazing how fast her mood changed. She really seemed to forget all her pain and loss.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" she asked, now completely oblivious.

"Your parents. Your mother and father," the Doctor tried to remind her, "They're on the motorway."

"Are they? That's nice. I'm sorry, I won't keep you," she said lightly and walked away.

"So that's the human race five billion years in the future," Martha said and looked after her. "Off their heads on chemicals."

Suddenly, two people were coming out of the steam that filled the alleyway, right behind Martha. "Martha, look out!" she yelled. She had noticed the two people – a young man and a young woman – some moments ago, but she hadn't paid attention to them. They were no different from the other people, all somehow nervous and after their drugs, moods or whatever the dealers were selling here.

Until now, as the man grabbed Martha from behind, whilst the woman was pointing a gun at her and the Doctor. But there was something not quite right. They were nervous, quite understandable in their situation, for they didn't look like professionals – but that was not it. Were they bluffing? The woman was too afraid for someone wielding a gun, much too afraid.

Probably it wasn't a real gun, or not loaded – anyway, there was a good chance she was faster than they, not only due to her centuries of experience.

"I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry. We just need three, that's all," the man said, almost as if apologising.

That was enough. She leaped forward – at least she tried, but before she could even make one single step she felt the Doctor holding her back on her upper arm and pulling her behind his back with a force that made her shoulder ache, leaving her no chance to free herself.

"No, let her go! I'm warning you, let her go! Whatever you want, I can help. All of us, we can help. But first you've got to let her go," the Doctor now yelled at the man.

"Leave me, it's a bluff! They're bluffing!" she yelled and tried to get past the Doctor, but he stood in front of her like a rock, still pushing her behind him and no matter how hard she pushed back, he didn't move an inch.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Sorry," the woman now yelled, and the next words that were exchanged got drowned in the chaos that suddenly broke loose as all the dealers closed their hatches and everyone was yelling over each other. Not a second later they turned, the gun still pointing at the Doctor and dragged Martha through a door that slammed shut behind them.

"That was a bluff!" she yelled again, as the Doctor finally let go of her and hurried over to the door, trying to open it.

"Oh, was it?" he replied, hardly suppressed anger in his voice.

"Yes. If you wouldn't have stopped me, they wouldn't have got away!"

"So, you fancy being shot to prove your theory then?" he turned around and glanced at her for a moment with such an angry look that it made her flinch, before the door finally opened and he ran through it.

"Damn it! You can trust me that I certainly _won't_ jump in front of a loaded gun and people ready to use it!" she yelled and ran after him, but he didn't seem to listen; he just stood on a balcony and watched a glider take off – it reminded her on the old Volkswagen Camper that had been around back in her days. Without doubt, Martha was on board. Without giving her so much as a glance, the Doctor spun around and returned to the alleyway with the shops and hammered at one of the now closed hatches.

"Thought you'd come back. Do you want some happy Happy?" the dealer asked with a smile after opening the hatch again.

"Those people, who were they? Where did they take her?" the Doctor hissed at him.

"They've taken her to the motorway," the woman who had sold the forget-patch said after opening her hatch as well.

"Looked like car-jackers to me," the man confirmed.

"I'd give up now, darling. You won't see her again," another of the dealers said.

"Used to be thriving, this place. You couldn't move. But they all go to the motorway in the end."

"He kept on saying three, we need three. What did he mean, three?" the Doctor asked.

"It's the car-sharing policy, to save fuel. You get special access if you're carrying three adults."

"This motorway. How do I get there?" the Doctor asked.

"Straight down the alley, keep going to the end. You canna miss it. Tell you what. How about some happy Happy? Then you'll be smiling, my love."

 _Oh oh._

That had definitely been the wrong thing to say for the dealer. As the Doctor turned around to face him again, she caught a glimpse of the look in his eyes. The only other time she had seen fury like that in them had been on Kroptor, when he had blamed the loss of the TARDIS on her. Well, most likely she was the target of his anger again right now; if it wasn't for her, then Martha wouldn't have been here. On the other hand, it had clearly been his doing to keep her from dealing with the two kids (and to her, they were nothing more than that – two kids playing with some sort of gun, hardly twenty years old, obviously totally inexperienced, and essentially not mean-spirited)

"Word of advice, all of you. Cash up, close down and pack your bags," he yelled at them.

"Why's that, then?" the dealer asked.

"Because as soon as I've found her, alive and well. And I will find her alive and well. Then I'm coming back, and this street is closing tonight!"

With that said, he hurried off, not looking back at her once, leaving her no other choice than to follow him.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

"Stop!" he heard Mira yelling behind his back, but he didn't care.

Martha was in danger, and it was his fault, because he had listened to Mira, for reasons he could not explain. If it was for him, she would have been back home on Earth, in safety. But no, Mira had had to insist. After all she had told him about keeping Rose on the TARDIS, endangering her life and it being his responsibility if something happens to her. How could she do that now?

As he had reached the end of the alley, he unlocked a small metal door. He was about to go through it, as he felt Miras hand on his arm.

"What?" he spun around and glanced at her.

"What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? Really? Well, for a start, following Martha? Trying to find her?"

"Find her? On a motorway? How? Spread your arms and fly after the glider? Hijack another glider?" she asked, and slowly the calmness he heard a moment before was leaving her voice, being replaced by anger, not unlike the one he was feeling.

"If I have to!"

"Great. So, that's your _plan_ then?" she replied, sarcasm tripping from her every word.

"Yeah, that's my plan. Do you have a better one? May I remember that it was your idea to keep her around?" he said, yelling the last sentence in her face.

"Oh, so we're playing blame-game now? Great. And you kept me from dealing with those teens, who-"

"They had a gun!"

"Yeah, oh my God, a gun. How often did I tell you know that I have a _certain_ amount of knowledge of the human nature, and above that, I can tell if someone's having it in them to actually shoot and kill? Don't make me responsible for your bloody trust issues!"

"What?! Now it's my fault?" he yelled back and finally opened the door, still with his back to it.

 _Trust issues? Seriously? Coming from her, of all people._

What make her think he wasn't trusting her? There had been a slight chance that she was wrong and he didn't want her to be shot, what was wrong with that?

"It doesn't matter now whose fault it is!" she yelled. "I fucking know that it was me who wanted to have her with us, you can believe that, but-" She suddenly stopped and looked past him, her eyes growing wide. "Holy shit," she whispered, making him spun around. "The mother of all traffic jams."

She was right, even through his anger he could see it. There were cars, cars, and more cars. Behind and above each other, rows and rows and rows, it seemed to go on for ever. It looked more like some sort of tunnel, and he couldn't quite see how high it went because of all the fog.

"I can't believe they're still flying with combustion engines?" Mira said, her voice already rough from the fumes.

"Well, they obviously do," he said, his anger rising again, and ran forwards to the edge of the little platform.

"You still believe we can find her?" Mira asked before starting to cough.

Even he was beginning to feel the effects of all that poisonous fumes as he replied, "That's the only chance we have."

"That's not a chance, that's madness. There's something going _fundamentally_ wrong here, can't you see that?"

Well, she might have had a point here; but the cars didn't seem to move at all. So maybe the one with Martha was still nearby.

"Well, I take my chances here, if you don't mind. Someone has to correct your mistake," he said before he could stop himself. But why stopping himself at all? He was right, and she most likely knew it.

"Yeah, good luck with that," he heard her saying behind him, suddenly sounding quite hurt. "Do what you must, I'm certainly not becoming part of this madness."

"What?" he yelled whilst coughing and turned around as he heard her receding footsteps.

"That's pointless," she yelled back, coughing herself and pointing at the cars.

"You're not leaving!"

"Oh, but I am," she said without turning around.

He wanted to insist that she stayed, but it was drowned in a fit of coughing. Then, the door of the nearest car opened and he heard someone yelling in an Irish accent, "Hey! You daft little street struts. What are you doing standing there? Either get out or get in. Come on!"

"Get out it is for me!" was the last thing he heard from Mira before she closed the door to the alleyway from the outside.

She had really left. Left without turning around or even listening to him. What was she thinking? Did she really believe she could do anything on her own out there? For a second he thought about getting after her, but then he heard the guy yell again, "Come on, make up your mind, will you?" and, after another moment of hesitation, he jumped into the car.

As soon as he was in, a dark haired woman gave him an oxygen mask and he gladly breathed in the pure air.

"There's this story, says back in the old days, on Junction forty seven, this woman stood in the exhaust fumes for a solid twenty minutes. By the time they found her, her head had swollen to fifty feet." the guy with the Irish accent said, and he could see now that it was a cat.

 _Here we go again..._

He gave back the oxygen mask and took a quick look around. It was quite stuffed in the car, maybe they were on their way to holidays.

"Oh, you're making it up," the woman said.

"A fifty foot head! Just think of it. Imagine picking that nose."

"Oh, stop it. That's disgusting."

"What, did you never pick your nose?" the guy said indignant.

"Bran, we're moving," the woman suddenly said.

"Right. I'm there. I'm on it," Bran confirmed.

He could feel the vehicle make a jump forward, then they stopped again.

"Twenty yards," Bran said, "We're having a good day. And who might you be, sir? Very well-dressed for a hitch-hiker."

"Thanks. Sorry, I'm the Doctor," he replied, still wondering about the twenty yard.

"Medical man! My name's Thomas Kincade Brannigan, and this is the bane of my life, the lovely Valerie."

"Nice to meet you," Valerie said with a smile.

"And that's the rest of the family behind you."

He turned around, drew back a curtain and saw a litter of kittens in a basket. Instantly, his anger ceased and he took out one of them to gently tickle it.

"Ah, that's nice," he said with a smile. "Hello. How old are they?"

"Just two months," Valerie said.

"Poor little souls," Bran added, "They've never known the ground beneath their paws. Children of the motorway."

"What, they were born in here?" he asked, taken aback.

"We couldn't stop," Valerie said. "We heard there were jobs going, out in the laundries on Fire Island. Thought we'd take a chance."

"What, you've been driving for two months?" he asked in utter disbelief. What was going on here?

"Do I look like a teenager?" Bran asked. "We've been driving for twelve years now."

"I'm sorry?" he asked. That couldn't be true. He was getting something wrong.

Yeah! Started out as newly-weds. Feels like yesterday."

"Feels like twelve years to me," Valerie said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Ah, sweetheart, but you're still love me."

"Twelve years? How far did you come? Where did you start?" he asked them, now somehow at his wit's end.

"Battery Park," Bran said. "It's five miles back."

"You travelled five miles in twelve years?"

"I think he's a bit slow," Bran said to Valerie.

"Where are you from?" Valerie asked him now.

"Never mind that," he replied in slow realisation. "I've got to get out. My friend's in one of these cars. She was taken hostage. I should get back to the TARDIS."

"You're too late for that," Bran said, "We've passed the lay-by. You're a passenger now, Sonny Jim."

"When's the next lay-by?"

"Oh, six months?" Bran answered, and slowly but surely it dawned on him that Mira might have been right. There was something really _fundamentally_ wrong here. Like the kick-one-directly-in-the-face sort of wrong. And now he was stuck in this mother of all traffic jams, just as she had said it.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She had walked through the dirty, steamy alleyways for a while now, trying to figure out where to go and what to do next. Not that she had much of a plan herself, but everything was better than being stuck in that tunnel with all the cars. She only knew she had to go up somehow. She had no idea why, but the solution to everything that was wrong here would be there, in the upper parts of the city.

She had felt all along that something was odd here. She had only thought herself save, because she had come here, to _New Earth_ , with the Doctor and the TARDIS, lulling her in a dangerous feeling of false security. And as for that, she had not paid attention to her surroundings. A big, bloody mistake. She should have noticed it before, that strange feeling of emptiness, untypical for such a big city. In fact, it had only felt right crowed and full of people in front of that motorway. But right now, above her head, it was just empty. If she had been on her guard, just like every time when setting foot on a foreign planet, she would have noticed it. But she didn't. Instead she had been pissed about coming here, annoyed by Martha flirting with him, and now Martha had been kidnapped because of her. Because she had only been here because of her in the first place.

The Doctor was rightfully angry at her, even though this anger was everything but productive right now.

And, to be honest, a part of her had feared him, if only for a moment. For that moment when she had first seen the anger in his eyes, making her flinch, and it had only been a hint of an anger that probably could destroy whole galaxies when fully unleashed.

Now a feeling of being stupid and foolish was gnawing on her, plus a deep, primeval fear of being left – left by him because of her stupid behaviour. With everyone else she would have been able to tell if they would turn away from her for what she had done, or if they were just angry out of the moment. But not with him. She couldn't tell and she had let him get close enough to hurt her like that in the first place. Hurt her by hating her right now and making her dreading he would leave her.

 _Great. Things I_ don't _need._

She just kicked a can that was lying on the street out of her way as she felt something in her mind – a nagging, ever so soft, like a single hair brushing over skin. She thought for a moment she could even hear her name, quiet and distant, like a voice carried by the wind, making her stop in her tracks.

For a moment she stood absolutely still, trying to figure out if she really had _heard_ something or if her mind was playing her tricks.

As it didn't happen again, she continued her way. What to do next? Back to the TARDIS? Well, she still had the key, but she had no idea how to operate her scanners. She had mental contact with her, but she could not just ask her to do something. That was not how it was working.

 _Mira.._

She stopped dead again. This time it had been louder and clearer, yet still faint. But clear enough to be sure. Someone was trying to contact her – it just felt like Gucky trying to submit her a message when she was down on a planet and he on a space ship in orbit. But who was it now? The Doctor? She closed her eyes after looking around and making sure no one was near, and tried to concentrate on the faint message, opening her mind to whoever wanted to contact her, just like she had done it so often for centuries.

 _Finally you have come. I have waited for so long..._

This time it was a lot stronger, even though the sender was probably still far away or just a weak telepath himself, but she was supporting him now with her own psychic energy.

 _Who are you?_

She was sure by know that it wasn't the Doctor, not only because of what he (or she?) said – it felt differently.

 _An old friend,_ he replied.

 _Oh, yeah? That's strange, because I have only one friend here I can think of – and you're not him._

A friend? Well, whoever that was didn't feel hostile, but it was better to be careful now.

She could hear – or, more likely, feel – him chuckling.

 _Have we met?_ , she asked.

 _Well, not yet._ I _have met you before, but you're meeting me the first time. That's the fun in time travel, isn't it?_

 _Who are you?_ , she tried it again. He seemed to know more about herself than she liked.

 _Oh, that's so you. Always on guard, always wary,_ he answered, and she could feel a slight sadness. It was not a purely telepathic contact due to her own abilities being mixed with it.

 _I'm sorry, I can't tell you more now. But you will understand when the time is right. Where is the Doctor?_ , he asked.

 _Well,_ she answered, _he... he wanted to follow a different approach, so..._

She would certainly not tell him where the Doctor was right now. Not without knowing more about this strange being.

Again a chuckling in her mind. _Oh, the two of you. Pigheaded, one worse than the other. Come on now. I need you. Both of you. I give you directions how you can get to me and then tell me where he is. Can you do that for me?_

She hesitated for a moment. Was it a trap? It had to be. But, then again, she had felt him in her mind, and of course, not even telepathy was absolutely honest, but combined with empathy she could be pretty sure it was no trap.

Finally, she decided to give it a try, not entirely but also because she was running out of options. Apart from that, it had struck her curiosity. He obviously knew the Doctor, as he knew her name. So she would most likely meet him at some point in her future, which had been in his past from his perspective.

 _Fine. Tell me where to go._

* * *

 _NeoMulder, Julia N SnowMiko, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, AxidentlGoddess, bored411, babypanda468: Thanks for reading and reviewing :-)_


	66. Chapter 66 - Gridlock Pt 2

**Chapter LXVI**

 _Mira's POV_

She was following the directions her anonymous friend was giving her for quite a while now. She had long left the under-city, and now, as the first rays of the sun were falling through the scattered windows, she new why it had felt that empty above her.

She slowly walked over to the dust-covered skeleton that was lying next to a table. Another one was still sitting on a chair, as if they had died suddenly and without warning – whilst going on with their daily business. She knelt next to it, but of course she couldn't see what had happened to them. As she lifted her head and looked around, she saw that the whole hall the stranger was leading her through was full of skeletons. It weren't that many, but they were scattered throughout the room.

 _What happened?_ she asked.

 _They all died_ , she heard him answer, and even she didn't feel like saying something sarcastically now about him stating the obvious. _Twenty-four years ago._

 _But how? What happened? Some sort of weapon? Chemical, or a neutron bomb?_

Again she heard chuckling, but this time it was very, very sad. Almost as if he had known what she was about to guess.

 _Oh Mira. No, it was no weapon, no war. Not this time. It was_ them _. A new chemical, they called it 'Bliss'. They all tried it and couldn't stop. A virus mutated in the compound, became airborne, killed them all. It killed the world in seven minutes flat, can you imagine that? Hm, you probably can._

She had continued walking whilst listening to the explanation. It was horrible, absolutely horrible. All that people, dead within minutes. She tried to not think about it; tried to hold back the tears. It did always get to her, seeing so many dead people. Even though they had died long before she had been in this universe. It had been living beings, with dreams and hopes, all killed long before their time.

She reached another room, looking like a senate, with tribunes, a speaker's podium in the middle and even more skeletons.

 _But there are still some alive_ , she thought, blinking tears out of her eyes. _They are stuck down there. They don't know, do they?_

"They are not stuck," she suddenly heard a voice.

She spun around and saw a figure in a nun's wimple. A _cat_ in a nun's wimple. A cat in a nun's wimple carrying a _machine gun_.

"Who are you?" she asked, "And how can you know what I just thought? You're not psychic."

"No, but he let me listen to your conversation. I hope you don't mind. And I'm Hame," the nun introduced herself. "I'm so glad you've finally come. He just located the Doctor, I'm about to get him. But first-"

"Oh, wait, wait. Who is 'he'? And how could you locate the Doctor? Where is he? And why are those people down there not stuck?"

" _He_ is the one I serve. He protected me. Let me sought for forgiveness. And he wants to see you," Hame said, and she could feel the honesty in her words.

The cat got at her side, laid a hand on her back and guided her through the Senate. They reached another room, filled with cables and terminals, but she had only eyes for the huge glass cylinder. In it was a huge head. A face, and she immediately knew that he was her invisible 'old' friend. He looked indeed incredibly old, and there was a wisdom in his big, yellow eyes, she had never seen in any eyes before.

 _I am the Face of Boe_ , she heard him saying, _Or at least that is what I'm called these days._

 _And we know each other?_ she thought and got closer.

 _Oh yes. For quite a while, and rather well, just as I know the Doctor._

 _Quite a while?_ The thought shot through her head before she could prevent it. Meaning she would stay here for even longer?

The Face of Boe must have got not only the thought, but also her feelings about it, she knew it as she felt his emotions in return. It was almost exactly what she herself had felt when saying goodbye to the Doctor's previous regeneration, knowing exactly what he had to go through until they would meet again. Knowing all the horrors, the loss of his people and the loss of his homeworld he would have to face, with nothing for her to do about it.

 _Don't feel so lost_ , she heard him say sadly, _You're not. You have_ him. _Although, I have to admit - and I dearly regret that I'm no longer able to do it myself - sometimes someone should slam your heads together._

 _Pardon me?_

 _You know exactly what I mean._

 _Uhm, no?_

 _Come on Mira... But well, as we have a few minutes left since Hame is grabbing the Doctor, I'll tell you something_ , he replied, and continued after a moment, in a slightly different 'voice', as if reciting someone. _'He's lying, he's manipulative and you never quite know where to stand with him, but despite all that, he made you finally understand what it means to trust in someone. He's the only one you've ever fully trusted in your life, even though – or maybe_ because _\- you can't sense when he's being dishonest and lying to you. You believe in his loyalty, even though he might be lying from time to time.'_

 _What?_

 _Oh come on, you told me that yourself. Well, you will,_ she heard him say, and suddenly there was an almost youthful, cheeky feeling to his thoughts. For a second an image flashed before her mind's eye, vanishing before she could clearly see it. An image of the Face of Boe? From a time, long ago?

 _Why would I do that?_ , she asked. Why would she tell him she trusted the Doctor? What was that even – trust. Nothing more than a word for her. She knew the definition, but she had no idea how it actually felt. How could she? The mere concept of having to believe someone and not knowing if they tell the truth was absolutely foreign to her. In the rare cases when she really didn't know it was safe to resort to distrust.

 _Because we are friends_ , he said, now absolutely serious again. _I probably shouldn't have told you that, but I can't stand to see you like this. You're strong. You're determined, even hard-bitten. But sometimes you don't quite get when you're on the wrong path. And don't you dare to disagree with me now. From time to time you need someone to remind you of this. To help you turn around before it's too late. And, apart from that, can't you just stop brooding over everything for a moment? He's here - you are here. Don't think so much of what could be, what must not be or what might come out of all this. Just – live a little. I might almost say you like to suffer, but I know you better. You need him, just as he needs you._

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He had made it down to the lowest layer of cars by now. Jumping down there through clouds of fume was definitely not on the top of his list of things he wanted to do, and apart from that, he had had enough time to think. Maybe Mira was right. He had really tried to be angry at her for leaving him like that, but a part from him actually felt impressed. Slightly impressed, but nevertheless. Fine. He hated to admit it, but he probably even liked her being that independent, not having to hold her hand the whole time. What he still didn't like was her accusing him of having trust issues. Trust issues, he of all people. And there he had thought she knew him, if only a little.

Anyway, that would have to wait.

"Excuse me, is that legal?" The guy behind the wheel turned around. He looked like a gentleman straight out of 21st century England.

"Sorry, Motorway Foot Patrol. Whatever," he coughed, "Have you got any water?"

"Certainly," the man said and gave him a tiny cone of water. "Never let it be said I've lost my manners."

"Is this the last layer?" he asked whilst drinking it. He assumed it was, but just to be certain.

"We're right at the bottom. Nothing below us but the fast lane."

"Can we drive down?"

"There's only two of us. You need three to go down," the guy said.

"Couldn't we just cheat?" he asked.

"Well, I'd love to, but it's an automated system. The wheel would lock."

"Then excuse me," he said and opened the hatch.

"You can't jump. It's a thousand feet down!"

"No, I just want to look," he replied and peered out. Well, he had considered it, for the fracture of a second or so, but it really was too far down. Suddenly, he heard a nasty growl. "What's that noise?" he asked, looking up at the guy who was still turned around to him.

"I try not to think about it."

"What are those lights? What's down there? I just need to see," he murmured, more to himself.

He definitely had a habit of talking to himself, he suddenly realised, and wondered if Mira was talking to herself as well, now that she was on her own. But then again she wasn't _that_ talkative. He closed the hatch again, got up and pointed his Sonic Screwdriver at the car computer. It was linked to the central control system, so maybe he could use it backwards. "There must be some sort of ventilation. If I could just transmit a pulse through this thing, maybe I could trip the system, give us a bit of a breeze," he thought aloud and started to connect some wires.

After a few moments he was convinced it could actually work.

"That's it! Might shift the fumes a bit, give us a good look," he said, and indeed, the sight cleared, and he could now see shapes moving down there, and every now and then a claw snapping up at the car.

"What are those shapes?" the guy asked, slightly horrified by now.

"They're alive," he simply replied, still thinking about what they were.

"What the hell are they?"

"Macra," he finally said as he remembered. "They used to be the scourge of this galaxy. Gas. They fed off gas, the filthier the better. They built up a small empire using humans as slaves and mining gas for food," he explained.

"They don't exactly look like empire builders to me."

"Well, that was billions of years ago. Billions. They must have devolved down the years. Now they're just beasts. But they're still hungry and my friend's down there," he said and suddenly looked up as he heard a bang on the roof.

"Oh, it's like New Times Square in here, for goodness's sake!" the guy said and looked up as well.

They both watched a figure in a nun's wimple drop in.

"I've invented a sport," he said whilst watching the figure up and down. She was a cat. And carrying a gun.

"Doctor, you're a hard man to find," she said, looking up at him as if he was the saviour of all creation.

"No guns. I'm not having guns," the driver complained. Well, at least he was of one opinion with himself, the Doctor thought.

"I only brought this in case of pirates. Doctor, you've got to come with me," the nun replied.

"Do I know you?" he asked. She seemed slightly familiar to him, but he couldn't say when – if at all – he had met her.

"You haven't aged at all," she replied. "Time has been less kind to me."

"Novice Hame!" it stroke him. "No, hold on, get off. Last time we met, you were breeding humans for experimentation."

"I've sought forgiveness, Doctor, for so many years, under his guidance. And if you come with me, I might finally be able to redeem myself."

"I'm not going anywhere," he refused. "You've got Macra living underneath this city. Macra! And if my friend's still alive, she's stuck down there." Above all, he certainly wouldn't climb all the way up again.

"You've got to come with me right now," Hame insisted.

"No, no, no, you're coming with me. We've got three passengers now," he said. Time to finally go down to the fast lane.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. But the situation is even worse than you can imagine," she said and, before he could do anything, grabbed his wrist and said, "Transport."

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare!" he yelled, but it was too late.

 **...**

"Oh! Rough teleport. Ow. You can go straight back down and teleport people out, starting with Martha," he said to Hame.

"I only had the power for one trip," he heard her say.

"Then get some more! Where are we?"

"High above, in the over-city."

"Good," he said. Exactly where he wanted to be. "Because you can tell the Senate of New New York I'd like a word. They have got thousands of people trapped on the motorway. Millions!"

"But you're inside the Senate, right now. May the goddess Santori bless them," Hame said sadly.

She touched her bracelet, turning on a dim light. Indeed, it looked like the Senate. But apparently he was too late. Much too late. There was nothing left of them but skeletons. He spun around as he heard footsteps, and saw Mira approaching. Great, he wanted to have a word with her anyway.

"Mira, I see you've made-"

"They're all dead," she said quietly before he could finish his sentence. "All of them. Every single one in the over-city. Only the people on the motorway survived... I - It's the whole planet. Everywhere." She slightly shrugged, then shook her head – a gesture of such helplessness that all his anger vanished - and bit her lip, and he could see a tear running down her cheek.

They still had to talk about Martha, and yes, in some way he was still fed up by it, but how could he still be angry - with her being in tears about strangers who had died years before she had come to this universe, judging from the state of decay of those skeletons? And something – he couldn't quite say if it was something in her eyes or something more than simply reading her face - told him she was not merely shocked about all the skeletons; she actually felt sorry for them. Sorry for every single one whose life had ended so suddenly, as it seemed. They all had been living, breathing people, people with hopes and dreams and fears, with plans for a future they never were allowed to have.

And it shocked him to see her like this. Normally it was too abstract for humans – for most intelligent beings – to fully comprehend the death of so many people at once. They tended to be shocked but after all it was little more than an abstract number to them. Basically it was a good thing, serving as a protective mechanism to their tiny little fragile minds. Of course there was always an exception of the rule, and he had met one or the other who had reacted like her, but it had almost always been too much for them to take. He couldn't even say if she had always been sensitive like that or if had come with her age; not that it mattered now.

He went over to her with two long steps and pulled her in his arms. He almost feared she would step away from him, but instead she leaned heavy against him and buried her face on his chest.

"I am really sorry, but there's almost no time left," Hame urged, and instantly Mira freed herself.

"She's right," Mira said and walked past him, towards another room.

"So, how did the people on the motorway survive then," he asked Hame whilst following them. There was a picture beginning to form in his mind, but it was far from being complete yet.

"When it happened, we closed down the walkways and the flyovers, sealing off the under-city," Hame replied.

"So the whole thing down there is running on automatic," he said.

"There's not enough power to get them out. We did all we could to stop the system from choking."

"Who's we? How did you survive?" he asked.

"He protected me. And he has waited for you, these long years," Hame replied.

By now they had reached the next room and he could see it for himself.

 _Doctor_ , echoed through is mind.

"The Face of Boe!" he stated and hurried over to the huge glass cylinder, pressing his hand gently against it.

 _I knew you would come. And I had even dared to hope it would be both of you. I wasn't entirely sure about the time frame, but it seems to be just right._

So the Face of Boe knew about Mira, he thought. He was quite certain he didn't mean Martha. So, in other words, they would meet him again, some time sooner in his timeline.

"Back in the old days, I was made his nurse as penance for my sin," Hame said quietly, and now he understood what she had meant earlier. Oh, that big old face. The best that could have happened to Hame.

"Old friend, what happened to you?" he asked, speaking it out aloud so Mira and Hame could understand it as well.

 _Failing_.

"He protected me from the virus by shrouding me in his smoke," Hame explained. "But with no one to maintain it, the City's power died. The under-city would have fallen into the sea."

"So he saved them," he said quietly.

"The Face of Boe wired himself into the mainframe. He's giving his life force just to keep things running," Hame said.

"But there are planets out there. You could have called for help," he said.

"The last act of the Senate was to declare New Earth unsafe. The automatic quarantine lasts for one hundred years."

"So the two of you stayed here, on your own for all these years," he said and shot a quick look over to Mira. She was unusually quiet, avoiding his eyes. He would have expected her to say _something_ to all this.

"We had no choice," Hame replied quietly.

"Yes, you did."

 _Save them, Doctor. Save them_ , he heard the Face of Boe's voice in his head.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

A few minutes later they got a computer working, and the Doctor checked on the status of Martha's car.

"Car four six five diamond six. It still registers!" he yelled. "That's Martha. I knew she was good. Novice Hame, hold that in place. Think, think, think, think. Take the residual energy, invert it, feed it through the electricity grid."

Good enough to bring her back home, she thought, whilst knowing exactly that the jury was still out on that matter.

"There isn't enough power," Hame said, and she knew that the nun was right, she had checked the readings herself. The Doctor had done some rewiring, but it looked a bit too makeshift for her taste.

"Oh, you've got power," the Doctor said, "You've got me. I'm brilliant with computers, just you watch. Hame, every switch on that bank up to maximum. I can't power up the city, but all the city needs is people."

"So what are you going to do?" Hame asked.

"This!" he said and threw a big switch. Immediately, the lights went out. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

She hurried over to the one still working computer to check what went wrong. "The transformers are blocked," she said over her shoulder.

"Yeah, the signal can't get through," he replied.

 _Doctor_ , Boe's voice said in her head.

"Yeah, hold on, not now, "the Doctor cut him off.

 _I give you my last..._

Suddenly, the power came back and all the computers and lights started working again.

"Hame, look after him," the Doctor told her, "Don't you go dying on me, you big old face. You've got to see this. The open road. Ha!"

And they could see it, on one of the big screens. The roofs of the motorway opened.

"Sorry, no Sally Calypso. She was just a hologram. My name's the Doctor," the Doctor said into a microphone, transmitting it to the cars, "And this is an order. Everyone drive up. Right now. I've opened the roof of the motorway. Come on. Throttle those engines. Drive up. All of you. The whole under-city. Drive up, drive up, drive up! Fast! We've got to clear that fast lane. Drive up and get out of the way. Oi! Car four six five diamond six. Martha! Drive up!"

…

They were all gathered around the glass cylinder. A huge crack was spreading through the surface, and with a loud bang the glass finally broke.

"Doctor?" she suddenly heard Martha's voice behind her.

A wave of relief went through her, now that Martha was back safely.

"Over here," the Doctor replied.

"Doctor! What happened out there?" Martha said, and, as she entered the room seeing the Face of Boe, "What's that?"

"It's _who,_ not 'what'," she replied without turning around. "He's the Face of Boe."

"It's all right," the Doctor added. "Come and say hello. And this is Hame. She's a cat. Don't worry. He's the one that saved you, not me."

"My lord gave his life to save the city, and now he's dying," Hame said, her voice cracking with grief.

"No, don't say that," the Doctor disagreed. "Not old Boe. Plenty of life left."

 _It's good to breathe the air once more_ , she heard Boe in her head, being certain that the others, including Martha, could hear him as well.

"Who is he?" Martha asked.

"I don't even know," the Doctor replied quietly. "Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. Isn't that right? And you're not about to give up now."

 _Everything has its time. You know that, old friend, better than most. And you Mira, even though you still refuse to accept it._

As she listened to the echo of these words in her head, she felt the Doctor's hand in hers, his fingers intertwined with hers. She didn't make an attempt to free her hand and wondered why the Face of Boe didn't feel bad or anxious about dying. It almost seemed as if finally being able to go was a relief for him.

"The legend says more," Hame said.

"Don't. There's no need for that," the Doctor interrupted her.

"It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveller," Hame continued.

"Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?"

 _I have seen so much. Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind, as you are the last of yours, Doctor._

"That's why we have to survive. Both of us. Don't go," the Doctor said, sounding so sad and forlorn that she wanted to hug him, if he would only let go of her hand.

 _I must. But know this, Time Lord. You are not alone._

With that said, the Face of Boe closed his huge, wise eyes. Next to her she could hear Hame weeping, and she herself noticed the tears running down her own face.

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

They were back in the under-city, passing the shops of the drug dealers.

"All closed down," the Doctor, who was walking ahead of her, next to Mira, said.

"Happy?"she asked.

She was still shaken by everything that had happened the last hours. Being kidnapped, a whole city that had just died, a cat in a nun's wimple, and then _him_. The Face of Boe, who had died right in front of her eyes. She had never even dreamed of things like that. And neither Mira nor the Doctor seemed to be overly impressed by it. Well, it was showing at least in Mira's face that she didn't take it too lightly, but she assumed it was more because of the fact that the Face of Boe had died. Not so much because it – he – had been a gigantic face.

"Happy happy," the Doctor replied. "New New York can start again. And they've got Novice Hame. Just what every city needs. Cats in charge. Come on, time we were off."

"But what did he mean, the Face of Boe? You're not alone."

"I don't know," the Doctor said and turned around to her.

"You've got me. And- And Mira. Is that what he meant?" she asked and smiled at him. It could be possible, couldn't it? He was not alone, not really.

"I don't think so. Sorry," he said, and turned around again, continuing on his way to the TARDIS.

"Then what?" she asked. There was something he wasn't telling her. She had had that feeling when she had asked to see his homeworld, and now it came back even stronger.

"Doesn't matter. Back to the TARDIS, off we go."

Okay, that was enough, she thought. She grabbed a chair, sat down, arms and legs crossed.

He turned around again. "All right, are you staying?"

"Till you talk to me properly, yes. He said last of your kind. What does that mean?"

"It really doesn't matter," he replied, and it sounded almost slightly angry to her.

 _Hit a nerve, hm?_

"You don't talk. You never say. Why not?" she asked.

Suddenly, she could hear a faint sound. It almost sounded like singing. Yes, it was singing. The whole city was singing. The Doctor and Mira were listening as well.

"It's the city," she said amazed. "They're singing."

She looked back at the Doctor and saw the expression on his face soften.

"Why don't you tell her?" Mira, who was still standing next to him, said gently after they had listened to the singing for a few more moments. "You know that there's a difference between being lonely because – well, you know. And the loneliness you put yourself into by not letting anyone close."

For a moment she could see how he stared absolutely baffled at Mira.

"You really should start listening to your own advices. Did anyone ever tell you that?" he asked eventually.

"Countless times," she replied quietly, looking to the ground. "I can be incredibly resistant to learning."

"I lied to you, because I liked it," he said after a moment, seemingly defeated. "I could pretend. Just for a bit, I could imagine they were still alive, underneath a burnt orange sky. I'm not just a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. The Face of Boe was wrong. There's no one else."

He put two more chairs next to her's and they sat down as well.

"What happened?" she asked. Did he just say that his whole people were gone?

"There was a war. A Time War. The last Great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. They lost. Everyone lost," he continued, and she could feel tears in her eyes as she saw the sadness in his face. "They're all gone now. My family, my friends, even that sky. Oh, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song..."

* * *

 _babypanda468, djmegamouth, AxidentlGoddess, NeoMulder, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, bored411, Julia N SnowMiko, moonlightprincess99 and unknown guest: Thanks for reading and leaving a review :-)_


	67. Chapter 67 - True Colours

**Chapter LXVII**

 _Mira's POV_

The Doctor had wanted to bring Martha home immediately, but she had objected. In her eyes it would have been absolutely negligent to bring Martha home right now - after everything that had happened - where she had no one to talk to about it. Not only had she been kidnapped, but had also witnessed the death of a gigantic face, not to talk about the skeletons all around her in the upper-city. And, on top of that, the Doctor had just told her that a war had killed all his people and destroyed his homeworld. She had no doubts Martha would be able to deal with it, but first she needed sleep, something to eat and maybe a few hours to gather herself. After that she would accept whatever the Doctor wanted to do; bring Martha back home or let her stay, and finally he had agreed. Of course they hadn't had that conversation in front of Martha – she had sent the girl to her own room to have a shower and have a few moments for her self.

Now she was on her way to the library where Martha was waiting now with some tea, toast, jam and eggs balancing on a large tray. But when she arrived there Martha was lying on one of the soft couches and sleeping soundly. She left the food on the coffee-table, covered Martha with a blanket and went out again as quietly as possible. Outside of the library in the long, empty, and somehow ever changing corridor, she stood for a moment and thought about what to do next. They had to talk, that was for sure. She absolutely didn't feel like it, but on the other hand she had never been someone to avoid a confrontation. Sure, she had gotten more reasonable and less short-tempered over the years, maybe even a bit too much of it – at least sometimes. But it was all clear by now, wasn't it? It had been her fault that Martha had still been here and kidnapped in the first place, and she had agreed to bring her back to Earth, if the Doctor wanted to do so.

Apart from that she still had to think about what the Face of Boe had said. Had he talked to the Doctor as well? And if so, what had he said to him?

 _Hopefully nothing._

Had it even told her the truth? The Face of Boe obviously knew her, but why would she tell him things like that? And _when_ would she do it? Would she still say it, now that she knew of it? Say that the Doctor was a liar, manipulative, and she would still trust him? _Did_ she trust him? Well, to an extend. She trusted in his knowledge, his abilities to pilot the TARDIS, and things like that. But, on the other hand, she had allowed him in her head as she had been lying in bed with the worst migraine for the last decade. By now she remembered very well what had happened; but she had tried to convince herself that she would have agreed to everything to make the pain stop, that it had nothing to do with him in particular.

She just wished she could ask her father for advice. Or talk with Roi, her half-brother about it. She missed them badly, even more so at moments like this one. She was absolutely tired of doing and deciding everything on her own and having no one to talk to. Sure, she knew she was able get along on her own, she had done it countless times before. Sometimes she had been wrong, but overall it had worked out. But that didn't change that she was incredibly sick of it. But the Doctor was certainly the last person she would talk to about her feelings - feelings towards him.

Apart from that, what had the meaning of all that talking about _wrong path_ been? What did the Face of Boe know? If he really knew her, he would also know that she had always made it somehow.

But then he would also know about her deepest fears, know how much she dreaded the moment she wouldn't be able to pick herself up again because she had tested her luck and challenged destiny one time to many. She had no idea when that moment would come; but it was inevitable, that much she was certain of.

Well, back to the problems at hand - she couldn't hide nor stand in front of the library forever – so she decided to finally go up to the console room. Most likely he was there, and then they could discuss whatever there was left to discuss right away.

 **…**

She saw the Doctor bent over the console with his back to her. She was a quiet walker and often startled the people she was approaching, but with him she was almost certain he had heard her.

"She's sleeping in the library," she said quietly.

"Fine, yeah, she must be tired," he murmured without turning around.

"So, next stop is Earth then, isn't it?"

"Yupp."

He still hadn't turned around, but pretended to be busy with the console.

"What?"

"Nothing," he replied.

"Fine. You want an official apology? Yes, it was my fault that I tried to convince you to let Martha stay. If it had been for you, she would have been back on Earth. So, essentially, you can blame everything that had happened on me. I'm sorry."

She hoped that was it then, but of course, that would have been far too easy.

"So, why did you do that in the first place?" he said and finally turned around to her. Although, she wished immediately he hadn't done it, after seeing the reproachful look he gave her. "After you basically convincing me how dangerous it is to have someone else on board, as you did with Rose?"

"Because – Because she wanted to stay," she said, knowing exactly how lame that excuse was. But telling him the truth was not an option. "I.. I don't know. Maybe she reminded me of myself. I.. Damn it, I know very well that it was wrong now."

 _But you didn't have to agree, did you? And you did._

She bit her lip to prevent herself from saying it. Short-tempered, anyone?

"Oh, I see. She reminded you of yourself? So, that's it then?" he asked and stared at her out of deep, dark eyes, arms crossed and leaning against the console.

 _So much for an easy way out._

She observed him carefully, trying to figure out what he had meant. So the Face of Boe did talk to him? Or was he simply still angry at her? No, it was about something deeper, more fundamental now. Right now she felt like standing on thin ice, very thin ice, sliding and struggling to neither slip nor cause it to crack. She was used to having control over situations like that thanks to her psychic abilities, but now she experienced a total loss of control; something she hardly knew and deeply hated. She simply had no idea what he was up to and dreaded that every move she would make now could lead into disaster.

"Yeah, that's it," she said slowly. Well, who was the liar now?

"Fair enough," he said and spun around again. "Think that's all I can expect when you're still accusing me of having trust issues. And there I thought you at least tried to forgive me for what happened on Kroptor," he added as if talking to himself.

"What?!"

As he didn't reply, she walked around the console to face him again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she tried it again.

"You said I have trust issues," he said and looked up shortly. "'Don't make me responsible for your _bloody_ trust issues.' I think that were your words ," he added without looking at her again, pressing some buttons on the console. "Just wonder who of us is actually having trust issues here."

She stared at him for a second before taking a deep breath as if to say something. But instead, she just exhaled and leaned heavy with her arms on the console, opposite of where he was still standing, her head hanging down. So _that_ was it. She had – _once again_ \- said something whilst being enraged and furious, something that had hurt someone, without her wanting to. Well, maybe she had wanted to hurt him, if only for a second, but certainly she had not wanted to hit him like that and she had not thought about it like he obviously had. It had nothing to do with Kroptor, but simply with him having no trust in her abilities to handle situations like that.

"I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that," she finally said quietly.

"No?" he said, looking up again, this time his eyes stayed at her.

"No! I didn't even think about Kroptor. I was angry, and when I'm angry I say things I don't mean, and-"

"So you didn't mean it or you didn't mean it like that?" he interrupted her.

For a moment they just stared at each other, and she suddenly felt a bit like she had felt back on New Earth, just after she had walked away from him. Had she destroyed everything with a few words, spoken in anger? But at the same time, she didn't really want to take it back. She felt belittled, not taken seriously, and now blamed for everything that went wrong, even though she had tried to remedy it. Tried and been hold back by him. And now he was obviously in for hair-splitting.

 _Well, don't throw bricks when living in a glass house._

She was quite good at hair-splitting herself, remembering how she had actually forced him to say what exactly he was apologising for after they were on that clock-work spaceship. This time she was the one who wouldn't get off the hook that easily.

"I didn't mean it like _that_ , not like you obviously understood it. But I don't see why I am to blame for everything that went wrong, with you not even giving me a chance to stop them!" She stood up straight again, her arms crossed as well now. "No, instead you think you can play hero, drag me out of the way and stand in front of that gun yourself! Do I really look like jumping in front of a loaded gun, hold by someone ready to use it?"

"Well, next time I'll certainly take my time to consider it," he replied angrily.

"As if it would take _you_ , of all people, that much time! And that's exactly what I mean, don't _consider_ it, just _trust_ me in cases like that one!"

She realised she was now sounding just as angry as he did, but she just couldn't help it; she did not even want to. At the same time she hated herself for getting so emotionally involved every time they were of a different opinion. Nothing against getting emotional and having a decent fight every now and then – but, alone due to her age, she was used to prevail – there were only a few people, namely the others who were like her – who could hit back and stand up to her. And now there was _him_.

But this time he didn't hit back – he only stared at her and she could see how his face changed. From fury and anger it softened and suddenly she could see that incredible alien expression in his eyes again she had already seen there a few times before. Only ever when they had been alone, and the first time after he had removed what ever he had done in her mind to block out the emotions of the dying Cybermen. Was that his real selfshe was seeing? Had he ever looked at another human like that? Rose maybe? She couldn't be certain, by no means, but she could hardly imagine he had. Would they have even been able to see it? Suddenly she understood how hard it must be for him to deal with those young and often so clueless humans all the time, to hide so much of himself, without the prospect to be with one of his own kind ever again.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He knew that she was waiting for an answer, and probably was only one step away to throw more accusations at him. Well, in some points she definitely was right. They had both messed it up. And a part of him was so relieved that she obviously wasn't referring to what had happened on Kroptor, that his anger already faded. Probably she had really said it out of the moment, because she had been angry. He really wished to be able to believe it, yet he wasn't entirely convinced. He was still considering what to say as he saw how her face slowly changed. All the anger vanished, and a second later he realised she was only reacting to how his own expression must have changed.

Well, she definitely tried to keep up the angry look, hands on her hips and her head held high, but he could see it working behind her eyes. Yes, he would rather stand in front of a gun himself, any time. With pointing that out she had brought it to the point. Back on New Earth, when pulling her behind him, he had realised how empty his life would be without her. He had wondered from time to time if he only was drawn to her because she was the only one in a very long time who could understand him; to whom he could actually talk to, and, above all, not only _talk_ to like he could with other humans. Wondered if it really mattered _who_ she was – if he would still be drawn to her if she would be completely different? Was it just _because_ she was the only one he actually could relate with? But did it really matter? Maybe it was the case and it was only because there was no one else, maybe not – same difference, wasn't it? Either way, he couldn't say why or how, but all he wanted to do was to be with her.

He had even slept for a little while when he had hold her in his arms in the observatory. He could hardly remember when he had done that the last time in the presence of a human. Well, he had done it, when he had just regenerated or been inflicted in some way, but that didn't count.

"What?" she asked eventually, still staring at him, the look on her face becoming increasingly confused. She had not changed after leaving New Earth and taking care of Martha, her hair was still braided and the shorter strands around her face curly and frizzy from the rain. He had the sudden urge to touch it, to brush aside one strand that was about to fall in her face. Good thing he was standing on the opposite side of the console, most likely she would be more than irritated by that now.

"I-" he started and looked down for a second, his hands in his pockets now. He was anything but certain about what to say next. That he _liked_ her and didn't want to lose her?

 _Oh for goodness sake, humans and their need for talking._

There were things he just didn't want to put in words. Things he didn't want to speak out loud, because words could only ever be a stale and poor substitute, and most often came out wrong anyway.

"I don't want to lose you," he finally said simply and looked up again.

She blinked at him once, twice. He knew by now that she always did that when she couldn't believe what she had just heard. Well, at least it didn't seem like his words had come out wrong this time.

He watched her face as she didn't reply, trying to figure out what was going on in her head. Was there a hint of fear in her eyes? Fear of what? Him? No, she had proven more than once by know that she wasn't afraid to stand up to him. Most of all she seemed to be uncertain now – and young and self-conscious, and slightly shocked.

All that lasted only for moments before her face became unreadable again.

"Then better don't let your emotions get in the way again, or it will get us both killed," she said flatly before turning around and leaving the console room without looking back, being all _Major_ _of the Solar Fleet_ again.

And even though he should have every reason to be down now, he somehow wasn't; at least not as much as he would have expected by being left flat like that. But he had the feeling he knew her at least a little bit by know, and her reaction hadn't come completely out of the blue. If his words wouldn't have affected her, if they wouldn't mean a thing to her, she wouldn't have reacted like that.

* * *

 _Sorry for that late (and rather short, but I guess everything that has to be said had been said) chapter. (And even if it may not look like, there's actually some progress in this chapter ;-) ) I'm currently facing the next removal and I'm slightly overtired, both thanks to my ***** neighbours from hell, so probably the updates may be a bit late for the next two months, at most._

 _Babypanda468, heroherondaletotherescue, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, bored411, Julia N SnowMiko, NeoMulder, Angie2274: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_


	68. Chapter 68 - Daleks In Manhattan Pt 1

**Chapter LXVIII**

 _Mira's POV_

 _I don't want to lose you._

The words echoed in her head as she walked along the corridor. She had seen his face, she had heard the sincerity in his voice, and still she tried to pretend she hadn't had, she had been wrong, tried to convince herself he had just casually said it, not meaning anything. He was alien after all, how could she judge him like she would judge a human? And yet, deep down inside her she knew that this most likely had been as close as he would ever get with words to express what his feelings, express that...

 _No. Never._

He had to know that this would lead to nothing but pain; know it just as she knew it.

She wished he would have yelled at her, been angry, something like that. Anything but expressing his fear of losing her. It was unfair, absolutely unfair. Why couldn't the others for once, _just for once_ , keep their feelings to themselves? But no, now she had to deal with it, question her every action, trying to not hurt him – at least not any more than she already had by leaving him standing there, telling him to his face to not let it get in the way. But what had he expected, with her being ambushed like that?

And now the only thing she could do was trying to be angry at him, trying to channel her panic into anger – panic she knew all to well, a feeling she had always felt when someone threatened to come too close to her; though she had also thought it had long been gone. She had finally grown out of it, learned to handle it without pushing others away; or at least so she had thought. But obviously that had only been true in good times. Well, relatively good times. Times when she had at least been in her own universe, with it being at least one constant to rely on. Was it all coming back now? All that childish, self destructive behaviour she thought she had overcome? Did she _really_ overcome it? Or had she just learned to compensate it and now her true self was coming back to the surface again?

She immediately tried to push this thought away. No, if there was something left she could rely on then it was the fact that she _knew_ herself. She had always had a tendency to be slightly close to the edge – sometimes too close or maybe even over the edge, at least for short moments. But that was one of the reasons she was still alive – why she had been so successfully in staying alive and relatively sane over all those centuries. She knew both sides, sanity and insanity, and she knew the fine line between them. And it was only too understandable that she was falling back into old behavioural patterns in a situation similar to when _It_ had brought to a time in her future centuries ago, losing everything and everyone.

Deep in thoughts and without paying attention she opened the door to her room, only to find herself suddenly lunging forwards, hitting her toes hard on something and fighting for balance. She spun around, looking at the floor and searching for the door sill she just must have tripped over. The door sill that had never been and still wasn't there – but she had tripped over _something_.

"Really?" she asked and looked around.

The old time ship was in a huff, she could feel it. The TARDIS didn't agree with how she had treated him, but she was also deeply worried.

"You know, dealing with him and this whole situation is hard enough as it is. You feeling offended by things I said to _him_ isn't very helpful," she murmured as she got rid of her clothes. Of course she knew that the TARDIS would always feel like this, knowing of the symbiotic relationship between her and the Doctor. Just as she knew _how_ headstrong the TARDIS could be from time to time. So she not even bothered to roll her eyes as she switched on the shower and the water stayed cold.

"Think you can bug me with cold water? Think again."

Suddenly, the water stopped all together.

"Great..."

She should have known it. For a moment she stood with her head against the cold glass of the shower cubicle, feeling incredibly and utterly defeated. She sure had it coming, hadn't she? She went back out of the bathroom to grab at least some fresh clothes.

But, as she went through the contents of the wardrobe, she suddenly heard water running in the bathroom. At first it was a slight dripping, but after a few seconds it turned into the loud splashing of the shower. As she turned her head she could see that the mirror was steaming up.

She walked back into the bathroom, thinking for a moment that the TARDIS was only playing games with her. But the water stayed warm as it was, and slowly but surely she could feel that her concerns had gotten the better of the old time ship.

 **...**

A while later – she had washed and dried her hair and had tucked a part of it in a knot high on the back of her head, leaving the rest from under the knot as a ponytail hanging down her back, and put on fresh clothes, black as usual – she was wandering aimlessly through the corridors. She was always afraid to get lost, but right now this fear just added to the list of things she should care about but didn't. Things like feeling absolutely tired and exhausted, her eyes burning and her neck aching, yet being unable to find some sleep. Or like feeling weak with hunger, but then again feeling like chocking when trying to eat something. Well, maybe eating that dry bread roll she had found in the kitchen hadn't been the best of all choices. Actually, she should look after Martha. Not that she would wake up in the library, being completely lost how to find her way back go the console room. But at the same time she was sick of caring for others. It wasn't particularly about Martha – she just couldn't do it right now. Instead she continued on her way through the corridors, trying the doors on each side of it. They were all locked, and she was about to just give up as one of them swung open, leading directly to the gigantic garden where they had planted the psychic plant. She had never been there after that; out of fear to get lost because the last time the door seemingly had vanished behind them. This time she didn't care.

So it actually did resemble his lost home world, with the burned orange sky, the reddish grass and the silver leaves on those alien trees. She walked until she found the psychic plant. It was still small, but it had already grown tiny, heart-shaped leaves with – in opposite to the plant on Earth – a slightly reddish-purple hue, together a few fragile twigs and thin branches. She listened for a moment, but the plant was still too young to possess the psychic powers of its mother-plant.

She sat down, leaning her back against a tree and took in the panorama. Was it really a horizon she could see or merely an optical illusion? _How big_ was this ship? And the Doctor, he wasn't here that often, was he? At least not for as long as she knew him. She tried to imagine how she would feel with this being the only thing left of Earth, of her home world. Would she be able to bear it? Probably not, even though the last day of Earth would come sooner or later. Question was, would she die before that day or would she live to see it? And would she then say the same things as the Doctor? That everything had its time and place? And how would she react when someone would just refuse to accept it, just like she did? Acting like some selfish idiot, not able to see and comprehend the inevitable? He was right, everything had to end, at the latest with the end of the universe itself. And the universe would end, would die at some point, wouldn't it? At least as far as science in her universe had worked it out. Maybe she should ask him, for he, with all his superior knowledge about time travel and the universe, must know it.

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

It took her a few moments to get her bearings and remember where she was when she woke up. Then, as she saw the the countless bookcases around her, she remembered. She hadn't meant to fall asleep in the middle of the library, but it had happened anyway. Her eyes caught the tray with the food and tea. The tea was cold by know, but she didn't mind. She felt like starving, and it would be a shame to let all the good food go to waste.

After she was finished, she looked around the library, but she really seemed to be alone here. For a moment she thought about what to do next – she wasn't quite sure she would find the way back to the console room on her own. But what else was there to do? Try to find some intercom as in Star Trek, and call for help? So she headed for the door, not believing she could actually get lost inside the TARDIS. It couldn't be that big, could it? And indeed, after a few turns left and right through the labyrinths the corridors were forming, she reached the console room.

Only the Doctor was here, just as she had secretly hoped. He had changed, wearing now the blue suit he had worn when she first met him.

"So, where to next?" she asked and circled the console, letting the fingers of her right hand stroke slightly over the surface.

She stopped once she stood next to him and turned her face, only to catch his glance as he looked down at her. She couldn't help it, but he seemed to be somehow distracted.

"Don't know," he simply said and looked back at the console again, flipping some switches.

"A foreign planet? I mean, really foreign this time, not New Earth," she said, trying to sound lightly.

"What's wrong with Earth," he replied without looking up.

It took her a moment to grasp the meaning of his words. Nothing. Nothing was wrong with Earth. Maybe she should just be glad that it was still there? She had tried to imagine how it must be with all of mankind and Earth gone, earlier in the library, but she just couldn't.

"Nothings wrong with Earth. Fine, can we see dinosaurs then?" she asked and beamed at him.

This time he looked up, but not at her – she followed his eyes and saw Mira walking up the stairs.

"What?" Mira asked, obviously slightly suspicious finding not only the Doctor but also she herself staring at her.

"We're just talking about where to go next," she hurried to say, "What about dinosaurs? On Earth, of course."

"Don't know," Mira said, came closer and leaned against the handrail, her arms crossed. "It's his decision, he's the pilot."

She looked back and forth between the two of them, trying to figure out what had happened when she had been sleeping. There was a certain kind of tension in the air between them – but then again, Mira hadn't sounded snappish or miffed. Her eyes came to rest on the Doctor now, who just stared into space for a few seconds – before he burst into action.

"Okay, Earth it is then. Dinosaurs. Mira, do you still remember what I've showed you? I guess dinosaurs were around at the same time frame in your universe. "

"It's a rather big time frame," Mira replied, sounding somehow sceptical.

"Yeah, will be hard to miss, so good to get some more practice," he said lightly, fiddling with the console.

"Great," Mira sighed and put her hand lightly on a transparent glass sphere, what looked a bit like the paper weights one could buy everywhere.

"You can fly the TARDIS?" she asked Mira.

"Hardly. Doubt any human will ever be able to," Mira replied without looking up.

"But you can read the instruments then?" she asked and pointed at the monitor. The weird, circular signs didn't mean anything to her.

"No. It's not so much about reading, but-"

"Oi, no talking, or we'll end up sometime else," the Doctor interrupted them.

"That'll happen anyway," Mira replied under her breath.

"Have a bit more trust in your navigational skills!" the Doctor yelled as he pulled a lever, "Just like me. Don't always know where I'm going, but it's always with confidence!"

Suddenly the TARDIS jumped and she hurried to hold something.

The next moments the TARDIS was shaking and Mira and the Doctor were yelling some stuff at each other she could understand, but not make any sense out of it. Finally, the shaking and rocking stopped again, and Mira and the Doctor just looked at each other for a moment.

"We're there?" Mira asked.

"Don't know, are we?" he replied.

"Well, then, look at the instruments?" Mira said.

"Nah, where would the fun be in that?" he said and grabbed his cloak. "We'll see in a moment. Martha, come on, no need to loiter in the console room when outside waits a whole Jurassic world to- " He had reached the door by know, opened it and suddenly stopped.

"What?" Mira asked and hurried at his side. "Oh."

"I did say dinosaurs, didn't I?" the Doctor asked and looked at her.

"You did."

"Then what's that?"

"Clearly not dinosaurs. Honestly, don't know why. It _felt_ right."

Meanwhile, she stood behind them and tried to look over Mira's shoulder. Well, no. Definitely no dinosaurs. She squeezed herself past them and out of the TARDIS. It was a beautiful but also quite cold day, and an amazing view was spreading out in front of her. But still, definitely no dinosaurs. Not even a near miss.

"It felt _right_ or _like dinosaurs_?" she heard the Doctor say behind her. Sounded like he and Mira had left the TARDIS as well now.

" _Right_. How am I supposed to know how dinosaurs feel?"

"Well, that's weird," the Doctor said.

She had no idea what they were talking about, and somehow she didn't really care right now. Instead she turned around.

"Is that?" she said as her eyes fell on a huge statue. "Oh, my God. That's the Statue of Liberty."

Mira and the Doctor spun around as well now.

"Gateway to the New World," the Doctor said after a moment, now clearly in his element. "Give me you tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free."

"That's so brilliant," she said. Well, no dinosaurs, but... "I've always wanted to go to New York. I mean the real New York, not the new, new, new, new, new one!"

"Well, there's the genuine article," the Doctor replied. "So good, they named it twice. Mind you, it was New Amsterdam originally. Harder to say twice. Now wonder it didn't catch on. New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam."

"What's so hard with saying New Amsterdam?" Mira asked, and indeed, it didn't sound too hard when she was saying it. But then again, English didn't seem to be her native language. Was she Dutch? She didn't sound Dutch, did she? One of her fellow students was Dutch, but he sounded differently, his accent was softer.

"I wonder what year it is, because look, the Empire State Building's not even finished yet," she said after she had turned around again.

"Work in progress," the Doctor said, "Still got a couple floors to go, and if I know my history, that makes the date somewhere around..."

"1930," Mira said without turning her eyes away from the skyline.

"November the first," she added after she had grabbed a newspaper with the date on it.

"You're getting good at this," the Doctor said irritated without looking at them. "Both of you!" Then he turned his head and saw the newspaper in her hands. But how had Mira figured out the year?

"Eighty years ago," she said. "It's funny, because you see all those old newsreels all in black and white like it's so far away, but here we are. It's real. It's now. Come on then, you. Where do you want to go first?"

"Hey, wait. We wanted to see dinosaurs, didn't we? So back to the TARDIS and try it again," Mira said.

"Nah, now we're here, so we can stay for a while," the Doctor said and started walking away from the TARDIS. "Last stop before your detour anyway."

"Hooverville Mystery Deepens," she read from the newspaper as she was hurrying to follow the Doctor and ignoring what he had just said about that being her detour. "What's Hooverville?"

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

Little later they had reached Central Park. He had watched Mira from the side, wondering what had brought them here. He didn't believe in coincidence or a navigational error. She had said id had felt right, so had known – in some way – what she had been doing. A part of him still wanted to refuse the idea of her being _that_ sensitive to time, wanted to instinctively discard it; but he knew better by now. She on the other hand didn't look particularly happy, and he assumed she was aware of it as well – _that's_ why she had wanted to go back to the TARDIS, not because she was keen on seeing dinosaurs.

"Herbert Hoover, thirty first President of the USA, came to power a year ago," he started to explain as they were approaching Hooverville, but mainly for the sake of saying anything at all. "Up till then New York was a boom town, the Roaring Twenties, and then-"

"The Wall Street Crash, yeah? When was that, 1929?" Martha asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Whole economy wiped out overnight. Thousands of people unemployed. All of a sudden, the huddled masses doubled in number with nowhere to go. So, they ended up here in Central Park."

"What, they actually live in the park? In the middle of the city?" Martha asked, but not a moment later she could see it for herself.

They had reached Hooverville, a shanty town in the middle of Central Park, overlooked by the skyscrapers. The contrast couldn't have been any bigger between the rich city and the poorest in here, that had lived in the huge skyscrapers themselves not too long ago.

"Where else should they go?" Mira replied. "They all lost their jobs, couldn't pay rent, lost everything. I wasn't born in the States, and it was a bit before my time anyway, but I don't think the social system here was very good at this time. So no one helped them."

"Where are you from then?" he heard Martha ask.

"Terrania. Gobi desert. I have a rather nice flat there, amazing view over the city and Crest Spaceport," she replied.

Well, Martha had most likely meant where she was born, and it certainly wasn't in Terrania. And Mira most certainly knew what Martha wanted to know.

"Bit hot there in the desert, isn't it?" Martha asked.

"Not too hot. We have an atmospheric weather control system."

"So you-" Martha started to say, but got interrupted by people yelling and shouting.

"You thieving lowlife!" a man yelled, and a fight broke out between him and another man.

"I didn't touch it!" the other guy, in clothes just as shabby as the first one's yelled.

Now he could see they were fighting over a loaf of bread.

"Somebody stole it!" the first man accused the other one.

"Cut that out! Cut that out right now!" a man of colour, coming out of a tent, yelled at them. He had a certain authority to him, and indeed, he managed to break the fight.

"He stole my bread!" the first man said again.

"That's enough! Did you take it?" the man from the tend asked the other man.

"I don't know what happened. He just went crazy."

"That's enough! Now, think real careful before you lie to me."

"I'm starving, Solomon."

So he was indeed well known with the people, the Doctor thought as he watched Solomon hold out his hand. The guy accused of stealing gave him the loaf of bread he had hidden inside his coat.

"We're all starving," Solomon said. "We all got families somewhere."

Then he broke the bread and gave half of the loaf to each of both men.

"No stealing and no fighting," Solomon continued. "You know the rules. Thirteen years ago I fought in the Great War. A lot of us did. And the only reason we got through was because we stuck together. No matter how bad things get, we still act like human beings. It's all we got."

The two fighters looked at him for a moment, then walked away.

He walked over to Solomon, Mira and Martha following him. "I suppose that makes you the boss around here," he addressed him.

"And, er, who might you be?" Solomon asked him.

"He's the Doctor," Martha said before he had the chance to introduce himself. "And that's Mira. I'm Martha."

"A doctor," Solomon said. "Huh. Well, we got stockbrokers, we got a lawyer, but you're the first doctor. Neighbourhood gets classier by the day."

"How many people live here?" Martha asked.

"At any one time, hundreds," Solomon replied. "No place else to go. But I will say this about Hooverville. We are a truly equal society. Black, white, all the same. All starving. So you're welcome, both of you. But tell me. Doctor, you're a man of learning, right? Explain this to me. That there's going to be the tallest building in the world. How come they can do that, when we got people starving in the heart of Manhattan?"

He couldn't give him an answer to that. Well, he actually _could_. But it was not one Solomon would want to hear. As much as he liked to help them, help humanity, they had to figure that part out for themselves. And they would. At least some of them.

"So, men are going missing. Is this true?" he asked Solomon.

"It's true all right," Solomon said after a moment of consideration and then led them to his tend. Obviously that was not something he wanted to discuss in public.

"How can you be so sure people go missing?" Mira asked as they had sat down on some low benches. "There are so many people here, leaving and coming all the time. You certainly don't keep any records, do you?"

"This is different," Solomon said.

"In what way?" Martha wanted to know.

"Someone takes them, at night," Solomon said. "We hear something, someone calls out for help. By the time we get there, they're gone like they vanished into thin air."

"And you're sure someone's taking them?" he asked, and saw Mira nodding slightly at him at the same time. So she had already figured out that Solomon was convinced by his own words, and not just making something up.

"Doctor, when you got next to nothing, you hold on to the little you got," Solomon replied. "Your knife, blanket, you take it with you. You don't leave bread uneaten, fire still burning."

"Have you been to the police?" Martha asked.

"Yeah, we tried that. Another deadbeat goes missing, big deal," Solomon said, frustration in his voice.

"So the question is, who's taking them and what for?" he said, more to himself than to Solomon.

"Solomon!" suddenly someone called from outside the tend, and a moment later a young chap stuck his head through the door. "Solomon, Mister Diagoras is here."

Solomon excused himself and went out. He jumped up and followed him, just as Mira and Martha. His eyes stayed on Martha for a moment. She was the kind of person he would have taken with him as a companion, no matter what of his regenerations. Bright, lively, and not easily scared. And she and Mira seemed to get along rather well. But there was no way of letting her stay. He had endangered enough people throughout his life, it had to stop now.

Once outside, a crowd had already gathered in front of a man who must be Diagoras.

"I need men," he just announced. "Volunteers. I've got a little work for you and you sure look like you can use the money."

"Yeah. What is the money?" the boy asked.

"A dollar a day."

"What's the work?" Solomon wanted to know.

"A little trip down the sewers. Got a tunnel collapsed needs clearing and fixing. Any takers?"

"A dollar a day? That's slave wage. And men don't always come back up, do they," Solomon said.

"Accidents happen," Diagoras said with a most unappealing smile.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "What sort of accidents?" Maybe that was the first trail to the people going missing.

"You don't need the work?" Diagoras asked instead of answering his question. "That's fine. Anybody else?"

He raised his hand, pretty much simultaneously with Mira.

"Enough with the questions," Diagoras said.

"Oh, no, no, no. I'm volunteering. I'll go. We'll go."

Martha also raised her hand now. "I'll kill you for this," she whispered, and he smiled at her. Talking about companions.

"Anybody else?" Diagoras asked.

* * *

 _Babypanda468, Ronin Kenshin, Julia N SnowMiko, heroherondaletotherescue, bored411, NeoMulder, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, Type40TARDIS, . .Be: Thank you so much for leaving a review :-)_


	69. Chapter 69 - Daleks In Manhattan Pt 2

**Chapter LXIX**

 _Mira's POV_

It was only a short way to the sewers, and there was no chance to have a few, unobserved words with the Doctor. Why was it now _him_ allowing Martha to stay for a bit longer? Had her reaction upset him more than he would let on? Had she finally driven him away from her? And, even more important because of the sense of imminent danger hanging in the air – why hadn't they gone back into the TARDIS and tried it again? Why was he always looking for trouble? Well, she had her theories about it; trouble was an excellent way to distract oneself from one's problems; but he definitely put it to a whole new level.

She also wondered why he had trusted her like this. He had, hadn't he? Letting her operate the TARDIS with him, asking if this time was feeling _right_ , and then staying here? What was he up to now? She watched his slender frame as she walked behind him, the movement of his brown coat as he was walking with his hands shoved in his pockets. But, no matter how hard she was trying, she couldn't find any answers to her questions.

And yet it would have been so easy. She could just ask him. Stop behaving as if she was still a teenager and start acting as the adult she was. She had tried to convince herself for long enough that talking to him would be of no use because he wouldn't give her a proper answer anyway. Probably he would by now. It was nothing but a convenient excuse so that she wouldn't even have to try and risk to fail.

As they finally reached the sewer entrance, she took a look around. It was only the Doctor, Martha and herself plus Solomon and Frank. Diagoras was here as well, guiding the way. The Doctor had been walking next to Solomon, Martha next to Frank. He probably was the same age as Martha, though it was hard to say – leading a live like his could make people age faster.

They all went down the sewer, and – to her surprise – Diagoras was following. The sewer was a dark and damp place, most as it was to be expected. The smell was overwhelming and she thought she could hear the faint noises of rats, alongside the dripping sound of water. At least she hoped it was only water dripping down from the arched ceiling.

"Turn left. Go about a half a mile. Follow tunnel two seven three. Fall's right ahead of you, you can't miss it," Diagoras said.

 _Yeah, sure. The non-existent collapse._

Something was wrong. Not only was he lying, but he was also surrounded by the aura of someone who had suddenly came to great power, but was at the same time deeply frightened and shocked to his very core. He was caught right in the middle, treating everyone below him with disdain, knowing he could afford it, and at the same time crawling to his bigwigs, whoever they might be. He was beyond stressed and it seemed to be only a matter of time for him to reach his breaking point.

"And when do we get our dollar?" Frank wanted to know.

"When you come back up."

"And if we don't come back up?" the Doctor asked, even though he must know the answer by now.

"Then I got no one to pay," Diagoras replied coldly.

"Don't worry, we'll be back," Solomon said.

"Let's hope so," Martha whispered under her breath.

Martha shouldn't be here, she thought as she watched how the Doctor stared into Diagoras' eyes for a long moment. Surprisingly Diagoras didn't flinch. Pretty much everyone would have by now, staring into his dark, endless alien eyes in a face appearing so human.

That only added up to the picture she already had from Diagoras. He had seen other things quite recently, things that could easily match up to the Doctor staring at him like that. Things that would push him over the edge rather sooner than later. But what?

Finally, the Doctor broke the stare and she followed him and the others down the tunnels. She considered to just grab his hand and exchange a few thoughts about everything that was going on, but for some reason she hesitated. It had become different than it had been on Skaro, not too long ago. Now she was afraid of finally crossing a line, the last bit of distance she was able to maintain between them. She shot a quick look around, finding Martha still occupied with Frank.

"So this Diagoras bloke, who is he then?" the Doctor asked Solomon, pulling her out of her thoughts.

There she was again, distracted by her own feelings, in a situation when she just couldn't afford it. On the other hand, that was not the Fleet and she was not on duty, but this fact didn't make it any less dangerous.

"A couple of months ago, he was just another foreman," Solomon replied. "Now, it seems like he's running most of Manhattan."

He just had confirmed her own suspicions.

"How'd he manage that then?" the Doctor asked.

"These are strange times," Solomon said. "A man can go from being King of the Hill to the lowest of the low overnight. It's just for some folks it works the other way round."

"Just wonder who his backers are, I think he'd just sold his soul," she murmured, earning a surprised look from Solomon.

The Doctor's attention, on the other hand, was caught by something else. A slimy, green, jelly-fish-like thing lying on the ground directly in front of them.

They kneeled down in front of it, and instantly Martha was at their side again.

"Is it radioactive or something?" Martha asked and watched as the green glow vanished as the Doctor picked it up. "It's gone off, whatever it is. And you've got to pick it up!"

She focused with her mind on the green thing, but she couldn't make anything out of it. It was organic, sure, but alive? At least not any more. "Whatever it is, it's either dead now or simply doesn't have enough consciousness to feel anything and pass for something living. Like an overgrown amoeba," she said, curiously watching it as the Doctor turned it in his hands.

He nodded at her words and then said to Martha, "Shine your torch through it." She did so and after a moment he continued, "Composite organic matter. Martha? Medical opinion?"

"It's not human. I know that," she said with slight distaste in her voice.

"No, it's not," he confirmed. "And I'll tell you something else. We must be at least half a mile in. I don't see any sign of a collapse, do you? So why did Mister Diagoras send us down here?" he said to no one in particular and then turned his head to Mira, "To whom do you think he sold his soul to?"

She only shrugged and shook her head. How could she know?

"Where are we now?" Martha asked. "What's above us?"

"Well, we're right underneath Manhattan," the Doctor replied.

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

"We're way beyond half a mile. There's no collapse, nothing," Solomon said as he approached them, drawing the same conclusion as the Doctor.

"That Diagoras bloke, was he lying?" she asked and caught Mira's eyes for a moment.

What had she said about being psychic? Had she known it all the time? Why hadn't she said it?

"Looks like it," the Doctor replied and got up.

"So why'd he want people to come down here?" Frank asked.

"Solomon-" the Doctor started, but Mira suddenly interrupted him.

"You two, go back. NOW! Take Martha with you. Get out of the sewers and _don't_ come back," Mira said to Frank and Solomon, and something in her voice, her very posture, made Martha freeze to her core. It wasn't fear she had heard in Mira's voice, it was utter determination and a sharpness as if she was absolutely used to give orders and people around her obey. And, above all, she had sounded dead serious. Even more worrying was that the Doctor didn't disagree with her, he just remained silent and stared into the darkness of the tunnels as if looking out for something.

She was about to do as Mira had said, but before she could even make one single step she heard pig squeals echoing all around her.

"What the hell was that?" Solomon asked, making no attempt to leave.

"Hello?" Frank asked, and she could clearly hear the strain of fear in his voice.

"Shush," she tried to silence Frank.

"Frank," Solomon said warningly to him.

"What if it's one of the folk gone missing?" Frank replied. "You'd be scared and half mad down here on your own."

"Whatever there is, they're not particularly friendly," Mira said, but neither Frank nor Solomon seemed to care.

"Do you think they're still alive?" the Doctor asked.

"Heck, we ain't seen no bodies down here. Maybe they just got lost," Frank said.

The next second, the all turned their heads as more squeals could be heard.

"Does this sound like people?" Mira asked, and Solomon slowly shook his head.

"Where's it coming from?" Frank asked. He sounded even more afraid now, but he didn't back off. "Sounds like there's more than one of them."

"This way," the Doctor finally said.

"No, that way," Mira said, looking at the Doctor and pointing to where they had come from. "Out here it is for them."

"No, that way," Solomon said, not too impressed by Mira's warnings, and with his torch he lid up a figure, crouching in the corner, hiding its head. "Who are you?"

"Are you lost?" Frank asked and approached the figure. "Can you understand me? I've been thinking about folk lost down."

She couldn't help herself but she had to admire his courage. She still could hear the fear in his voice, and yet he tried to not run away head over heel.

"That one's no danger to us," Mira said. "But there are others...," she added and slowly approached the figure, finally crouching in front of it.

"It's all right, Frank. Just stay back," the Doctor said and slowly followed Mira. "Let us have a look." He crouched next to her. "He's got a point, though, my mate Frank. I'd hate to be stuck down here on my own. We know the way out. Daylight. If you come with us"

She tried to see what was going on, but the sight was blocked by the Doctor and Mira. She could only see that the figure slowly lifted its head.

"Oh my god, what happened to you?" she heard Mira say.

Finally she caught a glimpse on the figure and its face. She had to blink and look again, thinking the dim light and the shadows playing tricks on her eyes, but the picture remained the same. It was a human figure with the head of a _pig_.

"Is that, er, some kind of carnival mask?" Solomon asked.

"No, it's real," the Doctor said gravely. "I'm sorry. Now listen to me. I promise I can help. Who did this to you?"

Suddenly, she caught movements out of the corner of her eye. More of those figures were approaching.

"Doctor, Mira, I think you'd better get back here," she said, slowly moving backwards. "Doctor!" she yelled now, as the figures grow more and more.

"Actually, good point," he jumped up together with Mira and was about to go back to them.

"They're following you," she said, feeling herself just one step away from panicking.

"Yeah, I noticed that, thanks. Well then, Martha, Mira, Frank, Solomon...," he said.

"What?"

"Eh? Er, basically, run!"

And they ran. Chased by the pigmen, and she had no idea if they were still on the right path.

"Where are we going?!" she yelled as they reached a junction.

"This way!" the Doctor yelled back and she followed him. "There's a ladder! Come on!"

He sprinted towards it, jumped up and opened the cover with his sonic screwdriver. They were all at his heels, and for a moment she dared to hope they would make it. But then Frank, who was last, got grabbed by the pigmen and pulled back.

"Frank! Frank!" Solomon yelled, and he and the Doctor tried to grab his hand.

"I've got you. C'mon! Come on!" the Doctor yelled, but it was too late. In total horror she watched as Frank got pulled down.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He was about to go after Frank and the pigmen, as Solomon pushed him aside and slammed the lid shut.

"We can't go after him," Solomon yelled.

"We've got to go back down. We can't just leave him," he yelled back, hardly noticing Mira's hand on his sleeve.

"No, I'm not losing anybody else," Solomon insisted. "Those creatures were from Hell. From Hell itself!"

"Oh please, Solomon," Mira interrupted him. "There I thought you're reasonable. They're not from hell, I don't even thing they're from outer space."

"Anyway, if we go after them, they'll take us all! There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry," Solomon replied defeated.

He turned his head to Mira, wanting to ask her more about those creatures, but just then she leaped forward, onto a blonde woman in a silver dress. Not a moment later Mira had managed to disarm her, holding up the gun that woman had pointed at them.

"Ow! You hurt me!" she now yelled in a shrill voice.

"No I didn't," Mira replied calmly.

"Sure you did. Jumping at me like some mad-"

"You're not hurting, so stop pretending."

The woman looked at her for a moment in utter astonishment, then said, "Well, fine. It's just a prop anyway. Was either that or a spear." Suddenly she leaped forward, right in Mira's face, and yelled, "What have you done to my Laszlo?"

She certainly had some courage, that was for sure. But-

"Who's Laszlo?" Martha asked, absolutely puzzled, beating him to it.

 **…**

Little later they were all gathered in some sort of dressing room. The whole area looked like some backstage area of a theatre to him.

"Laszlo's my boyfriend," the blonde woman started to explain. "Or was my boyfriend until he disappeared two weeks ago. No letter, no goodbye, no nothing. And I'm not stupid. I know some guys are just pigs but not my Laszlo. I mean, what kind of guy asks you to meet his mother before he vamooses?" She looked around, waiting for an answer.

"What do you think happened to Lazlo?" Martha finally asked into the silence.

"I wish I knew. One minute he's there, the next, zip. Vanished."

"Listen, ah? What's your name?" he asked.

"Tallulah."

"Tallulah-" he repeated, but got interrupted before he could go on further.

"Three Ls and an H."

"Right," he started again, "We can try to find Laszlo, but he's not the only one. There are people disappearing every night."

"And there are creatures. Such creatures," Solomon said. He seemed to be a bit superstitious indeed.

"What do you mean, creatures?" Tallulah asked.

"Look, listen, just trust me. Everyone is in danger. I need to find out exactly what this is," he said and pulled the jelly-fish thing out of the pocket of his coat. "Because then I'll know exactly what we're fighting."

"Just reminded me to never search for anything in your pockets," Mira said quietly next to him.

He looked turned his head and for a short moment their eyes locked, before she looked away, almost shyly.

"Come on, we have to make up a little DNA scanner. Nothing fancy," he said to her and put the green thing back in his pocket.

 **...**

It was easier said then done - a good while later they were still searching for some vital parts. He had told Solomon to bring anything electronic to him, whilst Martha was with Tallulah, trying to get more out of her.

"How about this?" Solomon was back with a small radio. "I found it backstage."

"Perfect," he exclaimed. "It's the capacitors I need. I'm just rigging up a crude little DNA scan for this beastie. If I can get a chromosomal reading, I can find out where it's from," he continued and handed the radio over to Mira who immediately began to dissemble it.

"How about you, Doctor? And you, Mira? Where are you two from? I've been all over. I never heard anybody talk like you. Just exactly who are you?" Solomon wanted to know, and then turned to Mira. "I would almost say you're a veteran, giving orders like you did. But that can't be. You're a woman and way too young. Can't be older than twenty."

"Oh, We're just sort of passing by," he said, hoping to spare Mira an answer.

"I'm not a fool, Doctor," Solomon replied.

"No," he said softly after looking at Solomon for a moment. "Sorry."

"I was so scared," Solomon said and went over to the sewer entrance. "I let them take Frank because I was just so scared." He turned to Mira, "I'm religious, but I'm not superstitious. Those creatures are not sent by the Devil. I just don't know what they are. I've never seen anything like that, that's all. You have to believe me."

"I'm sorry Solomon. I didn't mean it like that," Mira said and looked up at him. "It's just that humans sometimes are a bit quick to blame things on superstitious nonsense."

"Humans? You mean _us_ humans? Fine, I see your point," Solomon said. "I got to get back to Hooverville. With these creatures on the loose, we got to protect ourselves. Ain't no one else going to help us."

"Good luck," he simply said. Solomon could use it.

"I hope you find what you're looking for, for all our sakes," Solomon said and left.

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

She was with Tallulah in her dressing room, watching her getting ready for the show.

"Laszlo," Tallulah said. "He'd wait for me after the show. Walk me home like I was a lady. He'd leave a flower for me on my dressing table. Every day, just a single rose bud."

"Haven't you reported him missing?" she asked.

"Sure. He's just a stagehand. Who cares? The management certainly don't."

"Can't you kick up a fuss or something?" she asked. She still couldn't believe that no one would care when someone went missing.

"Okay, so then they fire me," Tallulah replied.

"But they'd listen to you. You're one of the stars."

"Oh, honey, I got one song in a back street revue and that's only because Heidi Chicane broke her ankle," the other woman said and looked at her pitifully for her lack of understanding. "Which had nothing to do with me whatever anybody says. I can't afford to make a fuss. If I don't make this month's rent, then before you know it, I'm in Hooverville."

"Okay, I get it."

"It's the Depression, sweetie. Your heart might break, but the show goes on. Because if it stops, you starve. Every night I have to go out there, sing, dance, keep going, hoping he's going to come back."

"I'm sorry," she replied and suddenly felt utterly privileged. Not only was she able to study, she had a nice room, family who would be there for her, and incredibly lucky to be born in a different time.

"Hey, you're lucky, though," Tallulah said, and for a short moment she thought she might have read her mind somehow. "You got yourself a forward thinking guy with that hot potato in the sharp suit."

 _Oh well, not so much mind reading then._

"Er, he's not. We're not together."

"Oh, sure you are. I've seen the way you look at him. It's obvious."

"Not to him," she replied sadly. Sure, sometimes he actually paid attention to her, looking at her as if she was the only thing that mattered in the whole universe, but those moments passed just as sudden as they came, and his full attention was drawn to other things.

 _Or other people._

"Oh, I should have realised," Tallulah said. "It's her then? That other woman? The look in her eyes gives me the creeps. What a waste. Still, you got to live in hope. It's the only thing that's kept me going because, well, look. On my dressing table every day still." She picked up a rosebud.

"You think it's Laszlo?"

"I don't know. If he's still around, why is he being all secret like he doesn't want me to see him?"

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

The Doctor had said they needed heat, so they had went up to the lighting gallery. Now he was pointing one of the large spotlights at the jelly-thingy. She still couldn't see how he had built a DNA scanner out of 1920's technology, but well, it seemed to work, according to him.

"That's it. We need to heat you up," he mumbled and put on his glasses.

"What is it?" she asked.

"This is artificial," he replied without looking at her.

"Oh, really?"

"Sure," he said and turned is head, obviously not getting the sarcasm. "Genetically engineered," he said over some announcement over the speakers. Obviously the show was about to start. "Whoever this is, oh, you're clever."

"And who was it? Why would they leave it in the sewers? Looks like early, discarded stages of an experiment."

"That's probably just what it is. You're good, has anyone ever told you that?" he said and for a moment she doubted he was aware of who was sitting next to him, because he was so caught by his work. But just with the next sentence he proved her wrong."Why you're in the Fleet again and not a scientist?"

"Uhm. Sitting in a lab the whole day got boring. Did I never tell you?"

"Don't know, did you? So you stopped being a scientist because you got bored?" he asked casually.

She was outright left for words. If she knew one thing by now, then the more casual his tone became, the more she had to be on her guard. Never would she tell him why she had turned away from science.

As she didn't answer, he turned his attention to his work again. He produced a stethoscope out of his pockets and listened with it to the jelly-fish.

"Fundamental DNA type four six seven dash nine eight nine," he mumbled. "Nine eight nine. Hold on" he exclaimed and stared at her. She could see his eyes, his whole face suddenly darken, making her shiver. "That means planet of origin. Skaro."

* * *

IAmADreamer-LetMeBe, oneWhoReadsTooMuch, bored411, Type40TARDIS, Julia N SnowMiko, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, NeoMulder, MiaEther, yellowroseofthenw: Thanks for reviewing :-)


	70. Chapter 70 - Daleks In Manhattan Pt 3

**Chapter LXX**

 _Mira's POV_

Skaro.  
Again.  
Suddenly everything was falling into place. People went missing in the sewers; in those very sewers where they had found that green thing. And then Diagoras, who was sending people right in there, feeling superior to his fellow humans and shell-shocked at the same time, selling his soul not to the devil but-

 _Daleks._

For a moment she felt utterly frozen as she stared in his dark eyes. Daleks. It seemed to be a universal law that a species - creatures like them would always survive. Hide in some deep, dark hole just to creep up again when one would expect it the least. There presence looming silently over everything, even at most peaceful times, like a dark, cold shadow.

She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could do so the Doctor jumped up and ran off.

"Come on!" she heard him yell.

"But if that's from Skaro," she hurried after him, "I assume it didn't fly here on its own. So..."

"So?" he asked, but didn't pause for her to speak on. "We have to find Martha."

"What are they up to now?" she said, knowing exactly that they both were thinking the same about who 'they' were.

"How should I know?" he yelled without looking back, and threw open the door to the backstage area.

"You fought-" she said and almost ran into his back as he suddenly stopped. Then she heard the turmoil in the backstage area.

"Oh, that face, I ain't never going to sleep," a woman, standing in front of the Doctor, said absolutely horrified.

"Where is she? Where's Martha?" he yelled at no one in particular.

"I don't know. She ran off the stage," Tallulah replied.

Suddenly she could hear the pig squeals again, and he stormed past her, into the room they had entered from the sewers. "Martha!"

Then she saw it. The lid covering the entrance wasn't put back on properly. They had done it properly earlier when they had emerged from the sewers, hadn't they?

"Where are you going?" Tallulah demanded to know as he started to remove the lid.

"They've taken her," he said between gritted teeth.

"Who's taken her? What're you doing?" Tallulah didn't let go of it.

"No one, Tallulah, just leave it to that, please," she tried to intervene and followed him.

"I ain't no child!" Tallulah said indignantly.

"No. But sometimes ignorance is bliss. Most important lesson in live," she yelled back up, only to find that Tallulah was preparing to follow them.

"I said, what the hell are you doing?" Tallulah yelled down and a moment later she climbed down the ladder as well.

"No, no, no, no, no way. You're not coming," the Doctor fell in and it was clear to hear that he was not in the mood for discussions.

"Tell me what's going on," Tallulah insisted.

"Tallulah, trust me, you don't _want_ to know," she tried to convince her once more.

"Yeah, there's nothing you can do. So just go back," the Doctor added, staring in the darkness of the tunnels as if searching for something.

Not that she didn't know exactly what he was looking out for. She tried to concentrate, to figure out if there was an alien presence nearby, not an easy task with someone as agitated and emotional as Tallulah next to her.

"Look, whoever's taken Martha, they could've taken Laszlo, couldn't they?" Tallulah said now.

"Tallulah, you're not safe down here," he replied.

"Then that's my problem. Come on. Which way?" she asked.

Well, she certainly had a point here, but still. She just hoped Tallulah wouldn't freak out and put them all in danger. But she seemed determined to find Laszlo, already walking off in one of the tunnels.

"Fine. This way," the Doctor said defeated.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

His mind was racing. Skaro. Would it never be over? Never stop? Of course, it didn't have to mean that Daleks were here, but this genetically engineered thing must have gotten here somehow. Mira had and hinted at it and was right - he was almost certain of it, yet he refused to believe it with every fibre of his being.

"They are here," Mira's whispering pulled him out of his thoughts. It was almost inaudible, and there was no way Tallulah could have heard it. He himself didn't hear anything yet that sounded like a Dalek, but he exactly new that Mira didn't need to rely on her hearing. The Daleks were alive, and she must be able to feel the hatred that seemed to be the only emotion they would ever be able to experience.

"When you say, they've taken her, who's they exactly?" Tallulah asked, completely unaware of what was going on. "And who are you anyway? I never asked."

He tried to shush her; as much as he appreciated curiosity and questions, now was not the time for it.

"Okay, okay," she replied, as loud as before.

"Shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush," he tried it again, gesturing at her as well, and this time he saw the shadow of a Dalek cast on the wall ahead. It was unmistakable, with the eyestalk and the distinctive shape.

"I mean you're handsome and all-" Tallulah continued.

Humans, he thought, grabbed her, put his hand over her mouth to finally silence her and pulled her with him into an alcove. He watched how the Dalek passed them and was gone again. Then he released her. He hardly realised that Mira was standing next to him as he whispered under his breath, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. They survived. They always survive while I lose everything."

"That metal thing? What was it?" Tallulah asked.

For a moment, just a very short moment, he envied her. He envied her tiny little human brain, the few years her life lasted so far, and being so completely unaware of the Daleks and the war between them and him, his people, that seemingly would never end. Not as long as he and at least one of them was still alive. She would most likely never see what horrors he had seen, and certainly never have to do what he had done.

But this feeling of envy passed as quick as it had come over him, leaving nothing but anger and oncoming rage.

"It's called a Dalek," he hissed between gritted teeth. "And it's not just metal, it's alive."

"You're kidding me," Tallulah replied.

"Does it look like I'm kidding?" he snapped and turned his head to her. He vaguely realised Mira's hand in his – realising it just enough to make a conscious effort to not instinctively pull his hand back. "Inside that shell is a creature born to hate, whose only thought is to destroy everything and everyone that isn't a Dalek too. It won't stop until it's killed every human being alive."

"But if it's not a human being, that kind of implies it's from outer space," Tallulah said, realisation in her voice. "Yet again, that's a no with the kidding. Boy. Well, what's it doing here, in New York?"

He couldn't give her an answer. Yet.

But there was something else he knew for certain. Pigmen were one thing, Daleks however a whole new level of danger. "Every second you're down here, you're in danger," he said to Tallulah. "I'm taking you back right now."

But, as they turned around a corner and before Tallulah could protest, she started screaming. A moment later he saw the reason for it, one of the pigmen was standing there.

He immediately approached him, seeing that Mira stayed behind with Tallulah, as if to protect her.

"Where's Martha?" he yelled at him. "What have you done with her? What have you done with Martha?"

"I didn't take her," the man said and tried to hide his face.

"He's not hostile," he heard Mira, who had left her place at Tallulah's side. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Don't look at me," the pigman said, still trying to hide his face.

"Do you know where she is?" Tallulah fell in.

"Stay back! Don't look at me!" the pigman yelled.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"They made me a monster."

"Who did?"

"The masters."

"The Daleks," he said bitterly. "Why?"

"They needed slaves," the pigman explained. "They needed slaves to steal more people so they created us. Part animal, part human. I escaped before they got my mind, but it was still too late."

"Do you know what happened to Martha?" he asked. He just had to find her. Alive and well.

"They took her. It's my fault. She was following me."

"Were you in the theatre?" Tallulah asked now.

"Yes."

"Why? Why were you there?" she wanted to know.

"I never wanted you to see me like this," the pigman replied, and suddenly he knew who it was.

"Why me?" Tallulah asked, not quite getting it. "What I got to do with this? Were you following me? Is that why you were there?"

Finally, the man turned around, looking at Tallulah. "Yes."

He felt Mira's hand on his arm, leading him a few steps away.

"So, what now?" she asked him quietly.

"We have to stop them," he replied, being aware of the hardly suppressed anger in his voice.

She looked him straight in the eyes for a long moment, whilst he heard Tallulah and Laszlo in the background. For a moment the lost and weary expression which had filled her eyes ever since the void ship had been destroyed had vanished and was replaced by a fascinating look of utter determination, and yes, even a glimmer of that unyielding hope he had seen seen in them before. More precisely he had seen it there for the first time as he had lost the TARDIS on Kroptor. Then she looked past him at Tallulah and Laszlo, and as her eyes met his again it was gone, leaving him unsure if it had not only been the light playing tricks at him.

"I'm with you," she said, "But we have to get them out of here. Too dangerous. Next thing is to find out with how many we're dealing. And what they want."

"Sounds like we actually have a plan," he said. He didn't quite crack a smile, and he had a hard time to fight the urge to just hug her. Normally he wouldn't think twice, but after their conversation in the console room he was feeling strangely self-conscious about these things. Instead he just took and squeezed both her hands for a short moment and then he turned around to Laszlo.

"Laszlo, can you show me where they are?"

"They'll kill you," Laszlo replied.

"If we don't stop them, they'll kill everyone."

"Then follow me."

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Laszlo was leading the way. He claimed to know where the Daleks were, and as soon as they got there he and Tallulah would have to leave. It was more than enough that they had Martha. A few minutes later they all crouched behind a corner, watching a large group of pigmen with some people, prisoners, Martha and Frank among them.

The pigmen seemed to be nervous, but she couldn't figure out why.

"What're they doing? What's wrong? What's wrong?" she heard Frank say to Martha.

Suddenly, a Dalek was approaching. "Silence. Silence."

His cold, screaming voice cut through the air, right into her very soul.

"What the hell is that?" she could Martha hear. Of course, she had never met them before. Oh, they should have gone back to the TARDIS.

 _No._

Whatever the Daleks wanted here, they certainly were about to change the history of humanity. It had been _right_ to come here, but nevertheless, she just wished they had gone back to the TARDIS and headed on to the dinosaurs.

"You will form a line. Move! Move!" the Dalek screamed.

"Just do what it says, everyone, okay? Just obey," Martha said, showing an incredible amount of courage.

"The female is wise. Obey!"

"Report," another Dalek appeared.

"These are strong specimens. They will help the Dalek cause," the first Dalek reported as commanded. "What is the status of the Final Experiment?"

"The Dalekanium is in place. The energy conductor is now complete," the other Dalek replied.

"Then I will extract prisoners for selection," the first Dalek said and the pigmen dragged one of the prisoners, an older man, forward.

"Intelligence scan, initiate," the Dalek screamed and held his sucker arm onto the man's face. "Reading brain waves. Low intelligence."

"You calling me stupid?" the man asked.

"Silence! This one will become a pig slave. Next."

"No, let go of me," the man yelled as the pigmen dragged him away. "I'm not becoming one of them. No! No."

"Intelligence scan. Initiate," the Dalek continued.

She turned her head to Laszlo, who had started to explain. "They're divided into two groups. High intelligence and low intelligence. The low intelligence are taken to become pig slaves like me."

"Well, that's not fair," Tallulah said, again just a bit too loud.

"Shush," the Doctor tried to silence her.

"You're the smartest guy I ever dated," Tallulah continued, completely ignoring him.

"And the others?" the Doctor asked.

"They're taken to the laboratory."

"Why? What for?"

"I don't know," Laszlo replied. "The masters only call it the Final Experiment."

"What is this final experiment?" she wondered. "Do they need more Daleks?"

She turned her head again and watched the Dalek proceed with his scans. He had just scanned Frank, attesting him superior intelligence, and now continued with Martha.

"Intelligence scan, initiate. Superior intelligence. This one will become part of the Final Experiment."

"You can't just experiment on people. It's insane! It's inhuman!" Martha yelled at the Dalek.

"We are not human. Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory."

"Transgenic?" she repeated, looking at the Doctor.

"Look out, they're moving!" he said, instead of replying to her question.

A moment later Laszlo and Tallulah were on their way, but the Doctor stayed in place.

"Doctor. Doctor, quickly!" Laszlo said.

"I'm not coming," the Doctor replied, "I've got an idea. You go."

"Laszlo, come on," Tallulah urged.

"Can you remember the way?" Laszlo asked her.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Then go, please."

"But Laszlo, you got to come with me," Tallulah said.

"Where would I go?" Laszlo replied. "Tallulah, I'm begging you. Save yourself. Just run. Just go. Go."

After a moment of hesitation, Tallulah left.

Her look fell on the group of people and pigmen, lead by the Daleks. There was only one way to find out where they were going. The Doctor seemed to have a similar idea, he and Laszlo joined the humans, just before she could suggest to follow, but maybe a bit more discretely.

"Just keep walking," the Doctor said to Martha, who had just seen them.

"Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" she replied.

"Yeah, well, you can kiss me later. You too, Frank, if you want," the Doctor replied, and she could only shake her head; but with a slight, lob-sided smile.

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

They followed the Daleks, who gladly didn't realise they now had three extra prisoners, into some sort of laboratory. She had to admit that they had done a good job – the whole room was stuffed with devices, pipes and hoses between them, filled with liquids. She counted three Daleks, plus one who was behaving quite strange.

"Report," one of the Daleks yelled.

"Dalek Sec is in the final stage of evolution," another one answered.

"Scan him. Prepare for birth."

"Evolution?" the Doctor whispered next to her.

"Birth? What the fuck?!" she could Mira hear on her other side.

"What's wrong with old Charlie boy over there?" she asked and pointed at the Dalek in the middle who was shuffling and shifting quite erratic, smoke coming from his shell.

"Ask them," the Doctor whispered in her ear.

"What, me?" she whispered, even though she felt more like yelling the words at him. "Don't be daft."

She had seen those creatures above London, and she would certainly not step forward. Why wasn't he going?

"I don't exactly want to get noticed. Ask them what's going on," he answered her unspoken question.

He had a point, hadn't he? And he certainly wouldn't need a coward with him in the future. Everything in her screamed she should run away, get out of here as fast as she could. But, then again, it was for _him_ , and she didn't want to disappoint him. He hadn't let her down, he had saved her on New Earth, he had saved the whole planet from the Carrionites. Just as she had brought herself to step forward, she heard Mira saying, "Martha, stay back."

She watched Mira approach the Daleks without hesitation, her posture straight as if she owned the place, as if representing all of mankind.

"Mira!" the Doctor hissed, but it was too late to stop her. "Oh, what's she up to know? When they scan her they'll keep her!"

Why would they keep her? But before she could think further about this, her attention was drawn to Mira and the Daleks.

"Daleks!" Mira addressed them and stopped just in front of them, her arms crossed now. All of them – apart from the smoking one - spun around, their eye-stalks pointing at her. "You illegally set foot – well, wheel – on this planet. I demand to know why."

"Who are you?" a Dalek yelled at her, eyeing her with his eyestalk.

"I am Mira Rhodan. I guess it's save to say I speak in the interest of all mankind right now. And you will tell me now what you are doing here!"

The first Dalek scanned her, just as he had scanned herself and the others down in the sewer. Mira didn't even flinch.

"Abnormal DNA," he yelled. "Mutation. Increased cellular activity. Traces of higher dimensional radiation. Superior intelligence. You will be essential part of the final experiment!"

"Well then," she sighed, shifting her weight to one of her right leg as if getting bored of standing there, "Get to the point. What is your final experiment?"

Martha was bound to admire her in this moment, her voice calm like that, her whole demeanour self confident and almost casual, whilst she herself was shaking with nerves.

Suddenly the scales fell from her eyes. Mira was behaving like _him_. The Doctor couldn't have done it any better. So was she not human after all? There was no way a human would face those Daleks like that. Without even a hint of fear in their voice.

"You will bear witness," another of the Daleks yelled and got closer to her.

"To what?"

"This is the dawn of a new age."

"New age? _Dawn_ of a new age? Not pompous at all, is it? Where's the rest of you anyway? Can't be all of you, can it?"

"We are the only four Daleks in existence, so the species must evolve a life outside the shell. The Children of Skaro must walk again."

Then the shell of the Dalek in the background stopped smoking and the light in his eyestalk went out. The casing opened, and, to her utter surprise, and a human figure struggled out. The shell closed again, and the figure – _creature_ – straightened itself. His head was strangely malformed, and it looked a bit like his brain was out in the open. He had only one eye, which was looking through the room slightly disoriented.

"What is it?" she breathed and turned around, but the Doctor didn't answer.

"I am a human Dalek. I am your future," the creature stated.

Mira took a few steps forward, eyeing the creature up and down and finally broke the silence that had befallen the room. "My, my! A traitor to his own race," she said quietly, took a few steps to the side as if to examine this creature even closer, and then continued, "Is this what they've promised you, _Diagoras_?"

* * *

 _oneWhoReadsToMuch (Sorry, with dots parts of your name get automatically deleted) NeoMulder, bored411, Type40Tardis, Julia N SnowMiko: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_


	71. Chapter 71 - Evolution of the Daleks Pt1

**Chapter LXXI**

 _Mira's POV_

Silence lingered in the room for a long, a very long moment, giving her time to think. She had expected a lot, but not that. So the Daleks were desperate with only four of them left, and now they were mixing themselves with humans. Oh, she wished she would have been able to destroy Skaro. It would have been on _her_ consciousness then, not on his, and well, who cared about her peace of mind?

She certainly didn't – at least not any more. She had done other things, things probably just as worse as that, and she was living with it somehow – for centuries now. Of course, she hadn't meant to do it. No one had. She hadn't foreseen it, and not only she. They had all been blind. They hadn't meant to, but it had happened. She didn't even know how many deaths she had caused, how many planets had been destroyed.

 _It was the centre of a galaxy. Most suns there don't even have planets, and if so they are hardly ever inhabited. They are just too dense, too much radiation, heat and light._

That was what everyone had said after it, just to break the silence that had fallen over the command room after they had barely escaped, to shake off the feeling of absolute horror. Said time and time again in the months and years after it, all well meant, but never able to console her in the slightest.

Would one planet more or less really matter now? And, above all, the Daleks had never meant to exist like that in the first place. They were created, but not by coincidence, God, or however one would call it, no, by men. By a living, mortal being. Wasn't it her – and anyone else's – moral and ethical duty to put an end to it? It was either that it or being directly responsible for every death they would cause in the future.

 _Just as you thought you would save countless lives in your own galaxy? Did it justify what you've done?_

She knew that mean, little voice in her head. It had been her constant companion for ages, almost coming up in the most inappropriate moments. But it had been different back then, hadn't it?

"I am not a traitor," the human Dalek finally broke the silence.

"No?" she replied coldly, trying to shake off the memories and pictures of the flaming inferno her thoughts had conjured up just a moment ago. "Selling your own people to some aliens for their experiments? Sounds pretty much like a traitor to me. Just tell me one thing: How much is left of the _old_ Diagoras? Or, more likely, how much isn't? How much of you _died_?"

She turned around and looked at the other Daleks that had surrounded her as she waited for an answer. So far so good, their whole attention was laying on her. She only hoped the Doctor would come up with some sort of plan if she could buy him enough time.

"I didn't know Diagoras very well, but trust me, I'm pretty good in getting a grasp of people," she continued as the creature remained silent. "He wouldn't have wanted that. Being merged with a Dalek, a genetically manipulated creature, unable to survive on its own without its metal shell. I tell you what he was. He was frightened, scared to death and yet thrilled by all the power suddenly within his reach Did your former self really believe they would treat you with respect? Once a traitor, always a traitor. It's an age-old story. But instead of simply killing you after serving your purpose you they turned you into _that_."

"You will be next!" one of the Daleks yelled at her, coming a bit closer, eyeing her.

"Yeah, fine. But I'm not deaf yet, so stop yelling," she replied, trying to sound annoyed, even though she was everything but certain that the Daleks would even notice it.

They were running out of patience. If there was any other emotion in them apart from hate, then it was a feeling of growing impatience.

"These humans will become like me," the creature said, the conversation obviously over. "Prepare them for hybridisation."

And, as if they had only been waiting for that, the pigmen leaped forward and took the others. They didn't grab her, but she was still surrounded by three Daleks, so no chance of escape.

Suddenly, music started playing. It sounded thin, as if coming from some small radio.

"What is that sound?" the human Dalek asked irritated.

"Ah, well, now, that would be me," she heard a well known voice and felt her heart jump with sudden relief.

She turned her head and saw the Doctor approaching them, putting the radio down next to a Bunsen burner after switching it off.

" Hello. Surprise. Boo. Et etcetera," he added, walking casually through the room, his hands in the pockets of his trousers.

"Doctor," the creature said, absolutely surprised.

"The enemy of the Daleks!" one of the Daleks yelled.

"Exterminate!"

"Wait!" the creature commanded.

"Well, then," the Doctor said and stepped closer to the human Dalek. "A new form of Dalek. Fascinating and very clever."

"The Cult of Skaro escaped your slaughter," he replied.

 _His slaughter?_

It was _them_ attacking Gallifrey and the Time Lords, wasn't it? So if they hadn't been in for getting slaughtered, then they should have tried it with _not attacking_ in the first place. They did attack first, didn't they? He had told the truth, or not? Anyway, no matter what had really happened, she knew better than to hold him responsible for the actions of his people. Even if they really had attacked first.

"How did you end up in 1930?" the Doctor asked with an alarmingly calm tone in his voice, ignoring the accusation.

"Emergency temporal shift."

"Oh, that must have roasted up your power cells, huh?" he laughed and then continued, almost casually with a hint of despise in his voice, "Time was, four Daleks could have conquered the world, but instead you're skulking away, hidden in the dark, experimenting. All of which results in you."

"I am Dalek in human form," the creature replied.

"What does it feel like?" the Doctor asked. "You can talk to me, Dalek Sec. It is Dalek Sec, isn't it? That's your name? You've got a name and a mind of your own. Tell me what you're thinking right now."

"I feel humanity," Dalek Sec replied after a moment, almost hesitant.

"Good. That's good," the Doctor said.

"I feel everything we wanted from mankind," Dalek Sec continued, clenching ins fists, "Which is ambition, hatred, aggression and war. Such a genius for war."

"No, that's not what humanity means," the Doctor said and shook his head.

"Oh well," she said now, stepping forward again, looking at Dalek Sec. "I think that's exactly what it means. Even though it's only half of it. But humanity didn't get _that_ from the beginning either. We had to learn it over time, had to learn the hard way that there's more to it then aggression and war."

"I think it does. She's right," Dalek Sec confirmed, interrupting her. "At heart, this species is so very Dalek."

"And I think you should let me finish," she continued. "Maybe you're right. Without at least some aggression, ambition and even hatred we would still sit on trees or in caves, being completely and utterly satisfied with life as it is. We wouldn't be where we are now. But as said, it's only one half of it. You will see over time what I mean. If you – and the small rest of your species – will make it that long. Humanity has been on the brink of self-destruction a few times, and so for a reason."

She took a long look at Dalek Sec, stared into his eye until he broke the contact and looked away. Maybe he was already feeling it. But by now his emotions were overwhelmed by a deep insecurity and confusion, making it hard for her to be certain. No wonder, she could hardly imagine how hard it must be to adjust to such a sudden change in perception, thinking and feeling. Being merged with a species like the human race, a species who, unlike the Daleks, wasn't bred for one and only one single purpose.

A species that had had to face all their destructive potential, all the good and bad in them for the mere purpose of self-preservation, to survive crisis after crisis. One couldn't do that with nothing but aggression and hatred, being unable to learn from past experiences.  
No one, neither single individual or whole species, could do so without compassion – and forgiveness - for themselves and others, without creativity and the will to be _creative_ instead of destructive.

At this moment she didn't care that humanity in this universe was fairly young and hadn't been out into space yet – but they would learn, just like humanity had in her universe.

"Don't waste your energy on them," the Doctor eventually broke the silence. "It's pointless. They will never learn. Not even with this final experiment of yours. All you have achieved is – Nothing! I can show you what you're missing with this thing. A simple little radio."

"What is the purpose of that device?" one of the Daleks yelled.

"Well, exactly," he replied as if he had expected nothing else. "It plays music. What's the point of that? Oh, with music, you can dance to it, sing with it, fall in love to it." He turned his head, looked at her and said with a lob sided grin, "Oh, and Mira, I didn't forget you wanted to see Pink Floyd." Then he turned his attention to the Daleks again. "Unless you're a Dalek of course. Then it's all just noise." That said, he pointed the Sonic Screwdriver at the radio. Immediately it emitted a shrill sound, causing the pigmen as well as Dalek Sec to bend in pain. The other Daleks got disoriented as well, and the next moment the Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her away with him.

"Run!" he yelled, and all the others, including Martha, started to run as well.

"Protect the hybrid!" she could hear the Daleks scream behind her. "Protect. Protect. Protect."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

And again. He was running through the sewers, away from the Daleks, a group of humans at his heels. He would definitely prefer to see Pink Floyd now with Mira, the sixties and seventies of the 20th century were are rather nice time in the western world. All new ideas, new ways of life, a whole generation trying to find a new way for themselves - the shadow of war and nuclear deterrence ever present, hanging over their heads like dark clouds, shaking them, waking them up, making them question basically everything.

But all that didn't matter right now, he told himself. Maybe there was time for it later. A moment later he saw Tallulah standing in one of the corridors, quite lost. Didn't he tell her to leave? Humans, he thought and shook his head. Why could they never listen to him? Not once?

"Tallulah! Run!" he yelled at her, slowing down and taking a step to the side so that Mira wouldn't bump into him. She seemed to have a habit of almost bumping into him.

"What's happened to Laszlo?" Tallulah cried at him.

"Not now!" he yelled and ran past her as he saw that Martha was already dragging her along.

Behind him he could already hear the Daleks and the pigmen, searching for them. Finally they reached the ladder out of the sewers and a moment later they all were up again and he slammed the lid shut.

 **...**

Not much later they were back in Hooverville. It had been easy to convince Solomon to put guards around the camp, even though he himself didn't approve that they were armed. But he couldn't help that now.

"These Daleks, they sound like the stuff of nightmares. And they want to breed?" Solomon asked.

"They're splicing themselves onto human bodies, and if I'm right, they've got a farm of breeding stock right here in Hooverville," he replied. "You've got to get everyone out." He looked around for Mira, but she had armed herself as well and was looking out for the pigmen and Daleks which were sure to show up rather sooner than later.

"Hooverville's the lowest place a man can fall. There's nowhere else to go," Solomon replied.

Oh humans. He hadn't seen the Daleks so far, that was why he didn't fully comprehend just how serious the situation was.

"I'm sorry, Solomon. You've got to scatter," he tried to convince him. "Go anywhere. Down to the railroads, travel across state. Just get out of New York."

"There's got to be a way to reason with these things," Solomon replied.

He opened his mouth but before he could say something, he heard Mira's voice behind him.

"There is no reasoning I'm afraid," she said, and then to him, "They're coming."

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Chaos broke loose just as she had made it back to the camp to warn Solomon and the Doctor. She had armed herself with a hunting rifle, despite the look the Doctor had given her. Was he really thinking she was eager to shoot and kill the pigmen? They were victims as well, and it certainly hadn't been their choice to be transformed like that, nor to attack their fellow humans. But what choice did they have? Maybe they would run off when they got the first bullets in front of their feed, but she somehow doubted that.

"So it's started," the Doctor's only answer as he turned around and gave her a stern look.

She could hear the other guards shooting at the pigmen and everyone else were gathering now around them, including Martha and Tallulah.

There were more weapons left, but Solomon had refused to hand them out. Yet.

"We're under attack! Everyone to arms!" he yelled now, and the people hurried to do as he said.

She could feel how fear and even panic was spreading among them, but quite a few remained rather calm at the same time. Maybe it was because they had nothing left to lose, maybe because some of them had fought in a war before; she couldn't tell.

"I'm ready, boss, but all of you, find a weapon!", Frank said, armed with a shotgun now. "Use anything!"

Some people started running, but Solomon yelled, "Come back! We've got to stick together! It's not safe out there! Come back!"

It was too late for running anyway, the first pigmen had reached the camp now and started to grab the people. She tried to aim at them, but there was too much chaos and too many people running around she was afraid to hit.

"We need to get out of the park!" Martha yelled.

"We can't," the Doctor replied, "They're on all sides. They're driving everyone back towards us."

"Then we stand together," Solomon said determined. "Gather round. Everybody come to me. You there, Jethro, Harry, Seamus, stay together!"

She found herself next to the Doctor, between the other armed men which formed a circle around the women.

"They can't take all of us," Solomon, who was standing on her other side, said, almost as if talking to himself, to reassure him that they would have a chance if they all stood together.

"If we can just hold them off till daylight," Martha yelled.

"I'm afraid we don't have to," she said and followed the Doctor's look as he turned his head. "The pigmen are only here to round us up."

"Oh, my God," Martha whispered in utter terror as she spotted the flying Dalek herself.

"What in this world is this?" Solomon asked.

"It's the devil," one of the men said. "A devil in the sky. God save us all. It's damnation."

"Oh yeah?" Frank said. "We'll see about that!" The next moment, before either she or the Doctor could stop him, he fired at the Dalek with his shotgun.

"That's not going to work!" the Doctor yelled at him.

He could have thrown a stone instead achieving the same effect, she thought grimly to herself. But thankfully, the Dalek didn't exterminate him instantly.

"There's more than one of them!" Martha yelled, and indeed, another Dalek came flying.

Suddenly, without further warning, both of them started to fire at the tents and everyone standing in their way. They were surrounded by flames, dead and dying people instantly. The air was filled with smoke, cries of pain and the smell of burning flesh. People started to shoot at Daleks, but to no avail. She had put her weapon down by now because it was so absolutely useless.

Her eyes caught hold of the Doctor's face, and for a second she thought she had seen an expression of speechless terror, but then one of the Daleks, Dalek three according to a patch, screamed at them, "The humans will surrender!"

Her head flung around to the Dalek, and before she had the chance to even think about a response, the Doctor stepped forward.

"Leave them alone. They've done nothing to you!" he yelled at them.

There was no immediate response, and then Solomon stepped forward as well.

She grabbed his sleeve and said, "No, they'll just kill you!", but he shook her hand off and addressed the Dalek.

"I'm told that I'm addressing the Daleks. Is that right?" he said.

No reply. She couldn't help herself but got the feeling that the Dalek was communicating with the others via radio. Waiting for instructions.

"From what I hear, you're outcasts too," Solomon continued eventually, now standing next to the Doctor, but a few steps away.

"Solomon, don't!" the Doctor warned him.

"Doctor, this is my township," Solomon replied, and then spoke to the Dalek again. "You will respect my authority."

"Solomon, leave it!" she tried it again desperately, but she also didn't dare to step forward and pull him back. He was way stronger than her, and who knew how the Dalek would react if she just tried to overpower Solomon, which would more be a matter of the right technique than mere strength.

"Just let me try," Solomon said. "Daleks, ain't we all the same? Underneath, ain't we all kin?" He put down his rifle. "Right. See, I've just discovered this past day, God's universe is a thousand times the size I thought it was. And that scares me. Oh yeah, terrifies me right down to the bone. But surely it's got to give me hope. Hope that maybe together we can make a better tomorrow. So, I beg you now, if you have any compassion in your hearts, then you'll meet with us and stop this fight. Well? What do you say?"

Compassion? There was no compassion in a Dalek's heart. She of all people knew that, and still she hadn't expected what happened after Solomon was done with his moving, honest speech.

"Exterminate!"

The Dalek shot and Solomon died with a scream in a burst of blinding, green energy. The group around them screamed in terror and Frank ran over to Solomon's dead body.

"No! Solomon!" he yelled.

"They killed him. They just shot him on the spot," Martha said, absolutely stunned and and with a hint of beginning panic in her voice. She just hoped Martha wouldn't lose it now and start to run or something else irrational.

"Daleks," the Doctor said, and her head flung around to him. He was still standing in front of the group, nastily out in the open and exposed, the Dalek hovering in front of him. "All right, so it's my turn!"

She could hear the rage in his voice as he shouted. He didn't even try to conceal it. Then, with his next words, she just hoped she had gotten them wrong.

"Then kill me! Kill me if it'll stop you attacking these people!" he shouted.

"No!" she yelled, but he didn't even turn his head. Maybe he hadn't heard her, standing there, his arms spread, his face a mask of anger. Why was he doing that? She was absolutely certain that he meant it. At this very moment, he meant it. She had no idea why, maybe because of the sight of the burning tents and dying people, shot by the Daleks had woken something, brought something to the surface again. Or was he really that tired? Tired of being confronted by them time and time again? Tired of all the victims? She couldn't say why, but she was almost certain it went beyond simply protecting innocent people this time.

"I will be the destroyer of our greatest enemy!" the Dalek shouted.

"Then do it! Do it! Just do it! Do it!" The Doctor yelled.

She was frozen to the spot as she watched the scene. She didn't dare to move, to not provoke the Dalek any further. She had to do _something_. But what? There was no pushing him out of the way. The Dalek wouldn't miss, it was open field, and they were _fast_. And she knew just how strong he was. She couldn't just push him if he didn't want to. And right now he seemed to be more than determined to stand his ground.

"Exterminate!"

* * *

 _djmegamouth, bored411, Julia N SnowMiko, oneWhoReadsTooMuch, heroherondaletotherescue, yellowroseofthenw, NeoMulder, Stellahxhluvr, Type40TARDIS, AkatsukiShizu3: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_

 _Notsignedin: I'm not the most patient person myself ;-)_


	72. Chapter 72 - Evolution of the Daleks Pt2

**Chapter LXXII**

 _Mira's POV_

They wouldn't stop. Even after killing _him_ , they wouldn't stop. A part of her managed to even be surprised by the fact that she was able to _think,_ at least on a basic level, even though everything - including her brain and time itself - seemed to be frozen.

They would just kill him, and then a few more, just to prove their point, just as they had done on Skaro, and take the rest with them for their experiments.

 _That's it._

She had no idea how often she had been in a similar situation, thinking more or less the same thing. _That's it._

And now, just as always, her mind refused to believe it. Refused to believe that within the next second she would be dead, just like the Doctor and who knew who else. Did the others feel the same? Or was it just her, who had gotten away time and time again, no matter how close it had been. And it had been close – too close, way too often.

And now she had run out of options. Nothing left to do, nothing but to wait for the Dalek to open fire.

But he didn't. Instead, he started to speak again in his screaming voice, making her almost jump out of her skin.

"I do not understand. It is the Doctor."

Then – silence for the next seconds, again. She didn't dare to breathe, but slowly but surely her logical thinking kicked in again.

"The urge to kill is too strong," the Dalek yelled now.

So he actually _was_ talking to someone, receiving orders. Sec, the human Dalek? Who else?

"I obey," the Dalek yelled after another few seconds of silence.

"What's going on?" the Doctor asked, as confused as she herself was feeling.

"You will follow," the Dalek yelled, and it was more than clear who he meant.

"No! You can't go," she heard Martha's voice, still on the edge of panic.

"I've got to go," the Doctor said and turned around to Martha. "The Daleks just changed their minds. Daleks never change their minds."

"But what about us?" Martha asked.

She exchanged a quick look with the Doctor. She was everything but convinced that he _wouldn't_ do anything stupid when going with the Daleks, but then again it wasn't really his choice.

"I stay here with them," she said quietly.

She would rather follow him, but she couldn't just leave Martha here on her own. What if something happened to the Doctor and to herself, and Martha was stuck here all alone? Even though she couldn't pilot the TARDIS back home, she wouldn't leave Martha all on her own in a strange time and a strange place.

Her thoughts got rudely disturbed by the Dalek, screaming, "You will follow too!"

 _Great. Not._

Even though she had to admit that she was indeed glad to follow the Doctor, having been afraid to see him alive for the last time, her sense of duty protested rather loudly.

"And what's happening with them?" she asked, facing the Dalek, pointing at Martha and the others.

But before the Dalek could reply, the Doctor yelled at him, still with a hint of rage in his voice, "Only under one condition! If we come with you, you spare the lives of _everyone_ here! Do you hear me?"

"Humans will be spared. Follow!" the Dalek replied after a few seconds.

"Then I'm coming with you," Martha hurried to say.

"Martha, stay here," the Doctor turned around to her. "Do what you do best. People are hurt. You can help them. Let me go." He took her hand and added, "Oh, and can I just say, thank you very much."

She had seen out of the corner of her eye that he had handed the psychic paper to Martha, whatever good that would do. Probably it would have been better to give her the key to the TARDIS, so that she had at least a place to stay. Who knew what plans the Dalek had for them and their final experiment.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He could feel Mira's eyes on him almost the whole time as they were following the Daleks. He avoided looking at her, and his hands were buried in the pockets of his coat – he didn't want to take her hand right now. Not so much because of he wanted to avoid the simple physical contact; he was more afraid that she would try to get into telepathic contact with him, even though he would certainly be able to block that. He had lost it, back in the camp with the Daleks, and he really couldn't stand her questions or compassion or whatever just now.

Well, no. If he was completely honest with himself, he hadn't lost it. He was just done, so absolutely done. Those humans there died because of him, because the Daleks always survived - no matter what he did, always following in his wake. They had gotten away because of him, after he had sacrificed his homeworld, his people, _sacrificed basically everything,_ and now, despite all this, they were on Earth. And if he could stop them once and for all by handing himself over, then so be it.

But deep inside he knew that this wouldn't have ended it. They were Daleks, and not even finally getting him would stop them in their quest to conquer the universe. He knew it and yet he had almost got himself killed by them. He was just feeling so incredibly tired sometimes. Tired, defeated and frustrated. What else was there to sacrifice? What else _did he_ have to sacrifice, if himself wasn't enough, to finally make them stop?

Finally they reached the laboratory again, Sec awaiting them. He didn't bother to himself with greetings or any exchange of pleasantries, but got straight to the point.

"Those people were defenceless!" he yelled at Sec. "You only wanted me, but no, that wasn't enough for you. You had to start killing, because that's the only thing a Dalek's good for!"

"The deaths were wrong," Sec said simply and quietly, just as he was about to go on in his rant.

He stopped dead in his tracks, asking, "I'm sorry?"

"That man, their leader, Solomon," Sec said, "He showed... Courage."

"And that's good?" he asked carefully. What were they up to now?

"That's excellent," Sec confirmed.

"Is it me or are you just becoming a little bit more human?"

"You are the last of your kind, and now I am the first of mine," Sec said.

"You're not a _kind_ ," Mira spat at Sec. "That's not evolution, that's sick. Mixing – _integrating_ one species without their consent into your own, that's-"

"What do you want us for?" he interrupted her, before it could escalate.

"We tried everything to survive when we found ourselves stranded in this ignorant age," Sec said. "First we tried growing new Dalek embryos, but their flesh was too weak."

"Yeah, I found one of your experiments," he replied in distaste. "Just left to die out there in the dark."

"It forced us to conclude what is the greatest resource of this planet. Its people," Sec said before he threw a breaker switch.

The whole place suddenly lid up. He looked around and up. For the fracture of a second he couldn't believe what he was seeing, but it couldn't be anything else. It looked too much like covered bodies lying on stretchers. His head flung around to Mira, but she was just staring up, obviously trying to comprehend what was going on.

 _The greatest resource of this planet._

"We stole them," Sec explained. "We stole human beings for our purpose. Look inside."

He watched as Sec uncovered the face of a man who was lying on one of the stretchers. His face was white and dead looking.

"This is the true extent of the Final Experiment," Sec said quietly.

"They are all dead," Mira said flatly, staring at the man's face.

"Near death," Sec said. "With his mind wiped, ready to be filled with new ideas."

That explained why Mira thought they were dead. No emotions, no thoughts, nothing. Most likely not even the basic level of subconsciousness every living being was emanating, even in a state of deepest coma.

"Dalek ideas," he said between gritted teeth.

"The Human Dalek race," Sec said.

"All of these people. How many?" he asked, observing with growing concern the change of expression in Mira's face. He just hoped she wouldn't do anything stupid. As far as I knew her, she would have herself under control – at least he hoped so.

"We have caverns beyond this storing more than a thousand," Sec said.

"Is there any way to restore them? Make them human again?"

"Everything they were has been lost."

"So they're like shells," he said. "You've got empty human beings ready to be converted. That's going to take a hell of a lot of power. This planet hasn't even split the atom yet. How're you going to do it?"

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

She was in Solomon's tent, wrapping up a man's wrist and then sending him on his way as Tallulah entered.

"So what about us? What do we do now?"

She had thought about that herself – or more likely, tried to avoid thinking about it. Would she ever see the Doctor again? She couldn't even stand the thought of it. And, above all, she would be stranded here. In the past, _her_ past, a time that was over and dead. She wasn't even born yet. She should have gone with him, no matter if he wanted her to stay here or not.

But then again, he had left her his psychic paper. She remembered all to well how she had made a fool of her self when meeting Shakespeare.

"The Doctor gave me this," she said to Tallulah and waved the leather cover. "He must have had a reason."

"What's that for?" Tallulah asked.

"It gets you into places. Buildings and things. But where? He must want me to go somewhere but, what am I supposed to do?" She was completely lost. If he would have given her a hint, only one word, then-

"Wait a minute," she said, suddenly having a spontaneous intuition. "Down in the sewers, the Daleks mentioned this energy conductor."

"What does that mean?" Tallulah asked, completely clueless.

"I don't know. Maybe like a lightening conductor or. Dalekanium!"

"Oh."

"They said the Dalekanium was in place."

"In place where?

"Frank might know," she said and jumped up.

She found Frank in mourning over the loss of Solomon. He must have been a father figure for him, she suddenly realised.

"Frank?"

"Hmm?" he lifted his had and looked at her sadly.

"That Mister Diagoras, he was like some sort of fixer, yeah? Get you jobs all over town?" she asked.

"Yeah. He could find a profit anywhere."

"But where, though? What sort of things?"

"You name it," Frank said and shrugged. "We're all so desperate for work, you just hoped Diagoras would pick you for something good. Building work, that pays the best."

"But what sort of building work?"

"Mainly building that."

She followed his finger with her eyes. He was pointing right at the almost finished Empire State Building.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She stood next to the Doctor and Sec, looking at a big screen with the Empire State Building on it, trying to ignore the fact that she was surrounded by almost dead people; people of her own species, prepared to be _enhanced_ with a not so little bit of Dalek. Otherwise she would lose it, she was certain of that.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Empire State Building," the Doctor said. "We're right underneath that. I worked that out already, thanks. But what, you've hijacked the whole building?"

"We needed an energy conductor," Sec replied.

Something was going on with Sec. Something that hadn't gone as planned. There were doubts in his mind, and the excitement of new ideas. Ideas that didn't quite go together with the ideas of his former fellow Daleks. She could sense their distrust and how alarmed they were.

"What for?" the Doctor asked.

"I am the genetic template," Sec explained. "My altered DNA was to be administered to each human body. A strong enough blast of gamma radiation can splice the Dalek and human genetic codes, and waken each body from its sleep."

She wished there would be a way to save them. But it was as Sec had said, their minds were wiped, cleared of everything that had made them who they were. But wasn't it more kind to let them die in peace instead of getting turned into a new generation of Daleks? Certainly the Doctor was thinking the same. It had to be that way, at least that was what she tried to convince herself of. He could not actually consider to be part in that sick experiment.

"Gamma radiation?" the Doctor asked.

"It's the sun then, isn't it?" she asked, turning her head to look at Sec. The only source for that amount of Gamma radiation in this age she could think of.

"Soon the greatest solar flare for a thousand years will hit the Earth," Sec confirmed. "Gamma radiation will be drawn to the energy conductor and when it strikes-"

"The army wakes," the Doctor said. "I still don't know what you need us for."

"Your genius," Sec said. "Consider a pure Dalek, intelligent but emotionless."

"Apart from pure hatred, huh?" she said under her breath.

And it actually seemed to hit home with Sec. Only for a moment, but the emotion she received from him was almost overwhelming.

"Removing the emotions makes you stronger," the Doctor said. "That's what your creator thought, all those years ago."

"He was wrong," Sec said.

"He was what?" the Doctor said as if he couldn't believe it.

She turned her head to Sec as well, though it didn't come as a complete surprise to her.

"It makes us lesser than our enemies," Sec said. "We must return to the flesh, and also the heart."

So that was it then. He simply felt saddened that the Daleks were inferior, not because they only knew hatred.

"But you wouldn't be the supreme beings any more," the Doctor said.

"And that is good," Sec replied.

"That is incorrect!" one of the Daleks yelled.

"Daleks are supreme!" the other one screamed.

"No, not any more," Sec said.

"But that is our purpose!"

"Then our purpose is wrong!" Sec didn't give up. "Where has our quest for supremacy led us? To this. Hiding in the sewers on a primitive world, just four of us left. If we do not change now then we deserve extinction."

"Sounds like you're only sugarcoating the fact that you've reached a dead end in your so called _evolution_ ," she said to Sec, staring directly into his single eye.

"I think your species calls it survival of the fittest," Sec replied. "One has to adapt to survive."

"So you want to change everything that makes a Dalek a Dalek," the Doctor cut her short.

Oh, she would have had so much more to say to Sec, if she only got the chance to. Apart from that, the Doctor didn't really plan to help Sec, did he?

"If you can help me," Sec said.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

If one thing was clear then that Mira didn't agree with Sec's plans. But if there was only a slight change to give them a new impulse, to change the Dalek race, or what was left of it, then he had to take it. He just wasn't too sure about the Daleks, and how great the influence Sec had really was. They didn't quite agree with him.

"Your knowledge of genetic engineering is even greater than ours," Sec said. "The new race must be ready by the time the solar flare erupts."

"But you're the template. I thought they were getting a dose of you," he said.

"I want to change the gene sequence."

"To make them even more human?" he asked.

"Humans are the great survivors," Sec replied. "We need that ability."

"Hold on a minute," he said. It seemed as if Sec in all his – human – enthusiasm had no idea that maybe his fellow Daleks didn't quite see it like he did. "There's no way this lot are going to let you do it."

"I am their leader," Sec said, quite convinced.

"Oh, and that's enough for you, is it?" he asked, turning around to the Daleks.

"Daleks must follow orders!"

"Dalek Sec commands, we obey!"

"Well, we're certainly going to see _some_ evolution," Mira whispered under her breath.

"If you don't help me, nothing will change," Sec turned to him.

"There's no room on Earth for another race of people," he said determined.

"You have your TARDIS," Sec replied. "Take us across the stars. Find us a new home and allow the new Daleks to start again."

Fair enough.

"When's that solar flare?" he asked.

"Eleven minutes."

"Right then. Better get to work."

 **...**

They were working for a while, and, to his surprise, Mira was assisting him, albeit reluctantly. She tried to tell him something, but there was no chance with Sec and the Daleks around. He could guess what it was anyway, it was all too clear that the Daleks weren't quite approving with Sec's plans. And, well, Mira wasn't quite approving with his plans. It hadn't been that long ago when she had tried to blow up Skaro. And now he wanted to give the Daleks another change to change tack.

"There's no point in chromosomal grafting, it's too erratic," he said to Sec, reading some scales. "You need to split the genome and force the Dalek human sequence right into the cortex."

"We need more chromatin solution," Sec replied.

"The pig slaves have it!" one of the Daleks yelled.

Not much later some pigmen carried in a large crate. He saw Laszlo among them.

"These pig slaves, what happens to them in the grand plan?" he asked Sec.

"Nothing," Sec replied. "They're just simple beasts. Their lifespan is limited. None survive beyond a few weeks. Power up the line feeds."

He could see Mira literally bite her tongue as she was working at the crate and preparing it, together with the pigmen.

"Laszlo," he whispered as Sec looked away for a moment, "I can't undo what they've done to you, but they won't do it to anyone else."

"Do you trust him?" Laszlo asked.

"I know that one man can change the course of history," he said, knowing it wasn't really an answer. "Right idea in the right place at the right time, it's all it takes. I've got to believe it's possible."

He had no idea if he could trust him. He just had to. It was his – and their, and humanities – only chance.

"The line feeds are ready!" a Dalek screamed.

"Then it's all systems go," he said.

"The solar flare is imminent. The radiation will reach Earth in a matter of minutes," Sec said, looking at one of the screens.

"We'll be ready for it," he said.

And they would be, indeed. But different than the Daleks were still thinking. Maybe it was just that. More humanity, even more than Dalek Sec had gotten. Which was more than he had bargained for, anyway.

He filled a large syringe with the blue, liquid compound that would do the trick, and put it into a brass still.

"That compound will allow the gene bonds to reconfigure in a brand new pattern," he said. "Power up!"

A pigman threw one set of breakers, and Laszlo threw the others.

"Start the line feeds," Sec said.

They all watched the liquid going up tubes leading to the bodies which were still hanging above them.

"There goes the gene solution," he said.

"The life blood," Sec confirmed.

Suddenly, the all startled as a klaxon sounded. Something had gone wrong. But what?

* * *

 _Djmegamouth, oneWhoReadsToMuch, Julia N SnowMiko, AxidentlGoddess, NeoMulder, bored411, Type40TARDIS, unknown Guest, yellowroseofthenw, AkatsukiShizu3, Nina3KPop: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_


	73. Chapter 73 - Evolution of the Daleks Pt3

**Chapter LXXIII**

 _Martha's POV_

Martha had went back to the Empire State Building, followed by Tallulah and Frank. She still had only a vague idea at best what to do, but it was something about this building, of that she was certain.

"I always wanted to go to the Empire State," she said to her companions as they were in the lift to the top. "Never imagined it quite like this, though."

"Where are we headed anyway?" Frank asked.

"The top, where they're still building," she replied, managing to sound more confident than she actually felt.

"How come those guys just let us through? How's that thing work?" Tallulah wanted to know.

"Psychic paper," she replied, turning it in her hands. "Shows them whatever I want them to think. According to this, we're two engineers and an architect."

Then the lift came to a halt and they went on until they came to a room with a drawing board with some blueprints on it. She shot a quick glance to the still unfinished walls. Nothing was secured, and she didn't even want to imagine how far down it was going.

Tallulah on the other hand didn't seem to mind too much. "Look at this pace. Top of the world," she said and went straight to the whole in the wall.

"Okay, now this looks good," she said as she leaned over the plans, accompanied by Frank.

"Hey, look at the date. These designs were issued today," he said. "They must've changed something last minute."

"You mean the Daleks changed something?"

"Yeah, could be."

"The ones underneath, they're from before," she said as she went through the pages. "That means that whatever they changed must be on this top sheet but not on this one. We need to check one against the other."

"The height of this place!" she heard Tallulah from behind her. "This is amazing."

"Careful, we're a hundred floors up," she warned her after looking over to her. "Don't go wandering off."

 _I sound like him._

This thought crossed her mind so suddenly that she almost startled. She could only hope that he was alive and well.

"I just want to see," Tallulah replied. "New York City. If aliens had to come to Earth, oh, no wonder they came here."

Little later she had spread out the plans on the floor. She still didn't know what to look for, but she couldn't give up now.

"I'll go and keep an eye out," Frank said. "Make sure we're safe up here. Don't want nobody butting in."

She looked after him for a moment as he left.

"There's a hell of a storm moving in," Tallulah said casually, now sitting next to her on the floor.

"I wish the Doctor was here," she said, more to herself. "He'd know what we're looking for."

"So tell me, where did you and him first hook up?"

"It was in a hospital, sort of."

"Of course, him being a doctor."

"Actually, I'm a doctor. Well, kind of."

"You're a physician? Really?"

"I was training," she replied. "Still am, if I ever get back home."

"You could be doctors together," Tallulah said enthusiastically. "Oh, what a partnership. Oh, it's such a shame. If only he wasn't so different. You know what I mean?"

"Oh, you have no idea how different he really is," she sighed.

"Yeah, he's a man, sweetheart. That's different enough."

For a moment there was silence as she looked at the plans. But then she decided to speak on, to that woman who was long dead at her own time.

"He was travelling with her before we met, you know – alone I guess," she said and, as she saw the puzzled expression in Tallulah's face, added, "Mira."

"Ah, don't know what's it with her," Tallulah said and waved with her hand, "but she's just as different as him."

"True," she replied with a lob sided grin. "She's nice and all, but sometimes... Anyway. Don't know what was between them. I just know there's _still_ _something_ between them. Sometimes I say something or do something and he looks at me, and I just sort of think that he's not seeing me. He's just hearing _what_ I say, but it could be anyone saying it. Then he turns away again as if I'm not there. But I see how he looks at _her_. Don't know who dumped whom with them, but I think he still wants her."

"Oh. Listen, sweetheart. You want to get all sad? You want to have a contest with me and Laszlo?"

"No. But listen, if the Doctor's with Laszlo now, there's every chance that he could get him out."

"And then what? Don't talk crazy. There's no future for me and him. Those Dalek things took that away. The one good thing I had in my life and they destroyed it."

"We'll find a way, I promise!" she said to Tallulah, and wished she would only feel half as confident as she sounded.

She turned her attention back to the plans, and then she saw it. It had been there all the time, right in front of her eyes.

"Gotcha. Look. There, on the mast. Those little lines? They're new. They've added something, see?" she said to Tallulah.

"Added what?"

For a short moment the stared at each other as it dawned on them, then they said together, "Dalekanium!"

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

"What's happening?" Mira heard Sec ask. "Is there a malfunction? Answer me!"

"No, no, no," the Doctor yelled after looking around. "The gene feed! They're overriding the gene feed!"

"Overriding it with what?" she asked, but of course it remained unanswered.

"Impossible. They cannot disobey orders," Sec replied, a hint of panic in his voice now.

Well, seemed as if even he was getting it by now.

"The Doctor will step away from the controls!" the Dalek commanded.

"Stop!" Sec said. "You will not fire."

"He is an enemy of the Daleks!" the other Dalek screamed.

"And so are you!" the first Dalek added, and they both pointed their guns at him.

"I am your commander. I am Dalek Sec," Sec tried it again, sounding more and more desperate.

"You have lost your authority!"

"You are no longer a Dalek!"

"What have you done with the gene feed?" The Doctor yelled at them.

"The new bodies will be one hundred percent Dalek!" one of the Daleks replied.

"No. You can't do this!" Sec said.

But they didn't care. Their leader was fallen, no pure Dalek any more, and so he was no more to them than any other individual that wasn't Dalek. Instead they commanded their Pig slaves to restrain Sec, the Doctor and herself.

"Release me. I created you. I am your master!" Sec yelled, but to no avail.

Just then, another alarm was sounding, distracting them somewhat.

"Solar flare approaching!" one Dalek yelled.

"Prepare to intercept!" the other one screamed.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Laszlo had grabbed the Doctor, obviously with no intention to actually restrain him. Instead he was whispering something to him. She herself wasn't even struggling and trying to get free, hoping that would lull the Pig slave holding her into some false security. And actually, it seemed to work. It was really more of a natural reflex, almost everyone tended to subconsciously slightly loosen their grip when their victim wasn't struggling.

As soon as she saw Laszlo releasing the Doctor, she kicked out with her heel, hitting the Pig slave right in his knee. He grunted and for a moment she had enough free moving space to ram her elbow into is stomach. She heard how all air left his lungs, and a second later she managed to get free.

"There's the lift!" Laszlo yelled.

She started to leap forward, pulling the Doctor with her, who had just reached her. It would have been better if he had tried to make it to the lift instantly, instead of trying to help her, but well.

Seconds later all three of them had made it to the lift and the Doctor tried to open the doors with his Sonic Screwdriver.

"The Doctor is escaping. Stop him! Stop him!" the Daleks screamed frantically.

But they were too late. The doors opened, they jumped inside, and the doors slammed shut again, right in the Pig slave's faces.

"We've only got minutes before the gamma radiation reaches the Earth," the Doctor said, not losing any time. "We need to get to the top of the building-"

She turned her head as she heard Laszlo breathing heavily. "What is it?" she interrupted the Doctor and took Laszlo's arm, because it seemed as if he would faint any moment.

"Out of breath. It's nothing," Laszlo replied. "We've escaped them. That's all that matters."

There was no time to discuss it any further, even though it was clear to see that Laszlo was everything but all right. The lift arrived, the door opened, and the next thing she heard was Martha's voice.

"Doctor!"

"First floor, perfumery," he said smilingly and walked over to her.

Well, at least Martha was still alive and well, and had somehow managed to come to the right place, accompanied by Frank. Tallulah was also with her. She had obviously spotted Laszlo, and a moment later they hugged each other.

"We've worked it out," Martha said. "We know what they've done. There's Dalekanium on the mast. And it's good to see you too, by thy way."

"Oh, come here," the Doctor said, before he swept her right off her feet.

It could have been a great reunion, but right at this moment she caught the lift doors closing out of the corner of her eyes. She ran over to them, but it was too late. The Doctor was at her side immediately, trying to stop the lift with his Sonic Screwdriver.

"No, no, no. See, never waste time with a hug," he whined. "Deadlock seal. I can't stop it."

"Shit. So we have how much time? About five minutes? Until the Pig slaves and the Daleks will follow us," she said. It would be hard enough to deal with the Pig slaves, but with the Daleks? Without any weapon? Impossible. Hopefully they were stuck down there with their experiment.

"Yeah, don't think they're going to leave us alone up here. What's the time?" the Doctor asked.

"Er, eleven fifteen," Frank said.

"Six minutes to go," the Doctor said. "I've got to remove the Dalekanium before the gamma radiation hits."

"Gammon radiation? What the heck is that?" Tallulah asked.

"Never mind that now," she said and followed the Doctor who ran to the open area and looked out.

"Oh, that's high. That's very," he said. "Blimey, that's high."

"Yeah," she said as she peered down. "Almost four times the Saturn V, I might say..."

She caught his eyes and saw the flash of remembrance on his face. She had dreaded that year, 1969, so much, but after all they had gotten closer there. They had had quite a fight, but in the end... How she had taken his hands in her own, their fingers intertwined, and-

"And we've got to go even higher," Martha said and pulled her right out of her own memories, back to the problems at hand. "That's the mast up there, look. There's three pieces of Dalekanium on the base. We've got to get them off."

They all looked up. It was high indeed. Really, really high.

"That's not we, that's just me," the Doctor said suddenly.

"I won't just stand here and watch you!" Martha protested.

"You're certainly not going up there all alone," she said now, way more quiet than Martha had spoken, fully aware that he could hear her perfectly. She would not let him go up there on his own, not after he had just asked that Dalek to finally kill him.

"No, you're going to have your hands full anyway," he protested. "I'm sorry, but you've got to fight."

"Fight? Sure, we just most kindly ask the Daleks to please jump!" she said, her voice raised, pointing to the open area and down. "What in hell-"

"They'll most likely stay down, they have to deal with their experiment," he said. "Please, Mira," he continued and looked in her eyes intently. "Try to stop those Pig slaves. You have to. And take care of Martha."

"What? No! You take care of her, once-" His eyes were still locked with hers, and she knew it was pointless. He would go up there anyway. Apart from that, they were running out of time. "Be careful," she whispered finally.

He didn't answer, but instead took both her hands together in his, and placed them on his chest, right between where his two hearts must be. Then he released them, but not before pressing a gently kiss on them. She stood absolutely dumbstruck as he turned and went out to climb further up the building.

With everyone else this slightly antiquated gesture would have seemed utterly awkward, but not with him, for whatever reason. But what was it supposed to mean? Hopefully not his way of saying goodbye?

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

"The lift's coming up!" she yelled, just as the Doctor was gone. She had watched the scene with growing confusion and vanishing hope. It had looked so close and intimate.

"I should have brought that gun," Frank mumbled.

"Yes, indeed," Mira said.

Slowly but surely it dawned on her what the Doctor had meant with: They had to fight.

"Tallulah, stay back," Laszlo said. "You too, Martha. If they send Pig slaves, they're trained to kill."

Weirdly enough, he didn't include Mira in his list of weak females.

"The Doctor needs me to fight," she protested. "I'm not going anywhere!"

"Martha, seriously, do you even know how to defend yourself?" Mira asked.

No, she didn't. Not really. But did it matter now?

"They're savages," Laszlo said. "I should know. They're trained to slit your throat with their bare teeth."

He tried to lift a hammer, but instead he stumbled and fell.

"Laszlo? What is it?" Tallulah was at his side at once, trying to support him.

"No, it's nothing. I'm fine. Just leave me."

"Oh, honey, you're burning up. What's wrong with you? Tell me."

"Great. One man down, we ain't even started yet," Frank pointed out the obvious.

"One way of putting it...," Mira said quietly.

"It's not looking good, Frank," she said, just for the sake of saying something.

"Nope."

"We're going to get slaughtered," she realised.

"No one is going to get slaughtered," Mira said, but it sounded a bit rehearsed. Slightly, but still, rehearsed. How often had she said things like this?

She almost jumped as she heard thunder rolling through the air, shortly after a blinding lightening.

The thunderstorm. She saw how Mira had turned her head to the open area, and now looking right in her face.

"Wait a minute..," she said, and then, together with Mira, "Lightening!"

The next minutes Mira, Frank and herself were gathering pieces of metal scaffolding, using chairs to trail them in from outside. All the time being fully aware that the Pig slaves could come up any second. She knew she had to fight, but at the same time she knew that she wouldn't stand a chance. She could kick them. Hit something over their heads, but that was basically it. Yes, she was frightened, absolutely terrified. That fear was driving her even more. It was her only chance. This had to work.

"Aw, you'll be all right, sweetheart," Tallulah, who was tending Laszlo said. "Don't you worry. What the hell are you clowns doing?"

"Even if the Doctor stops the Dalekanium, this place is still going to get hit," she explained. "Great big bolt of lightening, electricity all down this building. Connect this to the lift and they get zapped." She felt slightly proud that she had had this idea, even if it had been at the same time as Mira. She just didn't want to think about the fact that she was just trying to kill someone.

"Oh my God, that could work!" Tallulah yelled.

"Then give us a hand," Frank said.

A few minutes later they were done.

"Is that going to work?" Tallulah asked.

"Most likely," Mira said. "Electricity tends to go the way of the least resistance, and metal, in this case, in opposite to the wooden floor-" She stopped for a moment and Martha could see the clueless expression on Tallulah's face as well. "Well, it just works."

"I've got it all piped up to the scaffolding outside," Frank said.

"Come here, Frank," she said. "Just sit in the middle and don't touch anything metal."

Not a second later the lift doors opened, and the Pig slaves stormed out. She just hoped they weren't too early. But before she had quite finished this thought, she almost jumped. A thunder, far louder than the earlier once tore the air, and at the same time she could see a lightening running through their makeshift conductor. She immediately closed her eyes at the brightness of it, but could still see the after-image of it. She heard the Pig slaves squealing in pain, and then, suddenly – nothing.

She slowly opened her eyes, and saw it. They were dead. All of them. A slight and almost disgusting smell hung in the air. Essentially it was just the smell of burned meat; it became disgusting because she knew where it came from.

"You did it, Martha," Tallulah said. "We did it!"

"They used to be like Laszlo," she said and slowly walked over to them. "They were people, and I killed them."

"It was _us_. Not you alone. And it was either them or us. I know that probably doesn't help much, but...," she heard Mira next to her.

"No, it was them. The Daleks killed them. Long ago," Laszlo said.

Then it stroke her like a lightening, "What about the Doctor?!"

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Mira was running up to the lightning conductor, followed by the others. She found his Sonic Screwdriver half way down. He was dead, for certain. If he had been anywhere near the conductor, he must be dead now. Not even he could survive that.

And then she saw him, lying flat on his back on his back, eyes closed and not moving at all. For a second she was so shocked she felt the world spinning and had almost lost balance.

Then she gathered herself, ran over to him and crouched next to him. She took his hand, his wrist, and was thinking that she could feel a pulse. But more important, she could feel _him_. He was alive.

"Doctor! Doctor?" Martha yelled, standing behind her. "Look what we found halfway down."

She remembered that she was still holding his Screwdriver.

Suddenly, he moved, opened his eyes and sat up, much too fast for being knocked out a moment ago.

"Oh my head," he said between gritted teeth.

"Well, you could keep it down just once?" she said to him. She had wanted to hiss at him, but instead her voice was shaking with relief.

"Hi. You survived, then," he said, and managed to smile at her.

That was one of these moments, where she either wanted so slap or to kiss him.

"Yes. Seems the Pig slaves are not as resistant to electrocution as you seem to be," she replied. Ouch, there it was again, but right now she couldn't think of anything but cynicism.

"Doctor?" Martha said and stopped her oncoming rant about climbing up a conductor right during a thunderstorm. "I can't help noticing there's Dalekanium still attached."

They all turned their heads and looked up.

"So, as the did actually lightening strike – We have a whole new race Human-Daleks right now? Just as the Daleks wanted them?" she finally broke the silence that had fallen.

"We'll see!" the Doctor yelled as he jumped up.

She gave the Screwdriver back and then they all followed him as he ran back inside.

"The Daleks will have gone straight to a war footing," he said. "They'll be using the sewers, spreading the soldiers out underneath Manhattan."

"How do we stop them?" Laszlo asked.

"There's only one chance," the Doctor replied. "I got in the way. That gamma strike went zapping though me first."

"Yeah, but what does that mean?" Martha asked.

"Wait," she said. "You can't change the gene feed by just getting in the way of the gamma strike."

"We need to draw fire," the Doctor said instead of answering. But then again, probably that was his way of answering. So either she was being incredibly stupid by asking that or it actually happened like that. "Before they can attack New York, I need to face them. Where can I draw them out? Think, think, think, think, think. We need some sort of space. Somewhere safe. Somewhere out of the way. Tallulah!"

"That's me. Three Ls and an H."

"The theatre! It's right above them, and, what, it's gone midnight? Can you get us inside?" he asked.

"Don't see why not."

"Is there another lift?"

"We came up in the service elevator," Martha said.

"That'll do. Allons-y!"

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

They arrived at the Theatre and went straight to the stalls.

"This should do it. Here we go," he said and looked around.

He just hoped he was right and it all worked out. If only a little bit of his DNA got mixed up, then he could stand a chance. Otherwise that would be it. Not only for him, but also for his companions. And Earth. But at least he could give his companions a bit more time, by sending them away.

"There ain't nothing more creepy than a theatre in the dark," Tallulah said. Oh, she could be a bit annoying, but essentially she was why he liked humanity so much. Always able to adapt and their single little heart on the right side. "Listen, Doctor, I know you got a thing for show tunes, but there's a time and place, huh?" Then suddenly Laszlo sat down – or rather, collapsed on a chair. "Laszlo, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just so hot."

"But it's freezing in here. Doctor, what's happening to him?"

"Not now, Tallulah. Sorry," he said, and he really meant it. There was nothing he could do for Laszlo, and certainly not right now. And it was all the Dalek's fault.

"What are you doing?" Martha asked.

His gaze fell on Mira before he answered Martha. She hadn't said anything so far, but he could guess that she had a vague idea.

"If the Daleks are going to war, they'll want to find their number one enemy," he finally replied. "I'm just telling them where I am."

Then he held the Sonic Screwdriver up in the air. They should be able to pick this up. Then he turned to Martha again.

"Martha, I'm telling you to go. Frank can take you back to Hooverville."

"And I'm telling you I'm not going," she replied wilfully.

"Martha, please," Mira fell in. He had wanted her to leave as well, but he knew even starting trying to convince her would be in vain. "Go. You can't help here, it's not some Pig slaves, but the Daleks this time."

"I'm not leaving you!", she repeated, glancing at him fiercely.

"Martha, that's an order," he yelled at her, louder than he had wanted to.

"Who are you, then?" she asked. "Some sort of Dalek?"

He just stared at her, utterly shocked, but then the doors broke down. He could see people marching in from both sides. They were surrounded.

"Doctor!" Tallulah yelled. "Oh, my God! Well, I guess that's them then, huh?"

"Humans, with Dalek DNA?" Martha asked, with panic in her voice.

"It's all right, it's all right," he said. "Just stay calm. Don't antagonize them."

"But what of the Dalek masters? Where are they?" Laszlo asked.

And just at this very moment there was an explosion on stage. There they were. Two of the three remaining Daleks, and their fallen leader. They had chained him, and he was crawling in front of them, like a dog.

"The Doctor will stand before the Daleks!" one of the Daleks screamed.

Without hesitation, he walked forwards over the top of the seats. He noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Mira was following him. And he could do nothing to stop her without angering the Daleks or the Human-Daleks.

"You will die, Doctor. It is the beginning of a new age! And you too if you have to stay with him! Your courage is nothing but stupidity caused by emotions other than hatred!"

"I just want to remind you to consider very carefully which universe to invade next," she replied coldly. "My death doesn't matter. There are others."

She didn't just stand beside him to tell the Daleks _that_ , did she?

"Planet Earth will become New Skaro!" the other Dalek yelled.

"Oh, and what a world," he said quickly. "With anything just the slightest bit different ground into the dirt. That's Dalek Sec. Don't you remember? The cleverest Dalek ever and look what you've done to him. Is that your new Empire, hmm? Is that the foundation for a whole new civilization?"

"My Daleks, just understand this," Sec said. "If you choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you."

And there it was. It could have actually been the dawning of a new age. The beginning of a new era. The end of the hate and pain that had been inbred into the Daleks from the very beginning. They could have evolved. _Lived_. But, just in its very beginnings, it was over. Doomed. Even now they just couldn't change.

"Incorrect. We will always survive!"

"Now we will destroy our greatest enemy, the Doctor!"

"But he can help you," Sec tried it again.

Suddenly he felt a soft, warm hand in his. Mira. What...?

"The Doctor must die!"

"No, I beg you, don't!" Sec yelled and stood up.

"Exterminate!"

But instead of firing at him, they killed Sec. Their own leader, their only chance to survive, just dead.

"Your own leader!" he yelled with barely controlled anger. "The only creature who might have led you out of the darkness and you destroyed him. Do you see what they did? Huh? You see what a Dalek really is?" He looked around. The Human-Daleks stood and watched quite indifferent. "If I'm going to die, let's give the new boys a shot. What do you think, eh? The Dalek humans. Their first blood. Go on, baptise them."

He shortly considered to just push Mira, so that she would fall between the seats, but that would have given her only a few more minutes, in case his plan – which really wasn't a plan, but mere calculations and a lot of hope – went wrong.

"Dalek humans, take aim!"

And so they did.

"What are you waiting for? Give the command!"

He felt how Mira's grip tightened. Wait, was she about to push _him_ down? Prevent him from sacrificing himself, again? He didn't have time to think about it any further.

"Exterminate!"

He tensed, and so did Mira, but nothing happened.

"Exterminate!"

"Obey. Dalek humans will obey!" the Dalek screamed

"They're not firing," Martha exclaimed. "What have you done?"

"You will obey. Exterminate!"

"Why?" one of the Human-Daleks asked, as if he just had woken up. And in some way that was the case.

"Daleks do not question orders!"

"But why?"

"You will stop this!"

"But _why_?"

"YOU MUST NOT QUESTION!"

"But you are not our master. And we, we are not Daleks."

"No, you're not," he said quietly. It had worked out as expected. "And you never will be." He turned to the Daleks. "Sorry, I got in the way of the lightning strike. Time Lord DNA got all mixed up. Just that little bit of freedom."

"If they will not obey, then they must die!" the Dalek yelled and shot the Human-Dalek who was asking questions.

"Get down!" he yelled, and he and Mira jumped down together, ducking between the seats.

Firing started, with the Daleks screaming, "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

And then the almost impossible happened. The destroyed the two Daleks. Suddenly silence fell over the place.

"It's all right, it's all right, it's all right," he said and got up again. "You did it. You're free."

He had no idea what would happen to the mutants now, but he was certain he could work something out. With a lot of Human and a bit of Time Lord DNA they could overcome the Dalek-part. But suddenly, there was a high-pitched sound. The mutants clutched their heads, and then, one after the other, every single one of them, died.

"No!" he yelled in sheer terror. "They can't! They can't! They can't! They can't!"

"They just killed them?" he heard Mira's voice.

"What happened? What was that?" Martha asked.

"Mira's right. They killed them, rather than let them live. An entire species. Genocide," he said and clenched his fists. They could have had a life of their own. Could have evolved. But no, they had to end it. Destroy it, just as everything else.

"Only two of the Daleks have been destroyed," Laszlo said. "One of the Dalek masters must still be alive."

"Oh, yes. In the whole universe, just one."

 **…**

Now he was in the laboratory again, with the others waiting in the background.

"Now what?" he asked the only remaining Dalek in the whole universe.

"You will be exterminated!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just think about it, Dalek what was your name?"

"Dalek Caan."

"Dalek Caan. Your entire species has been wiped out," he said, suddenly feeling incredibly tired again. Tired of all the killing, tired of the same discussion over and over again. Did _they_ never get tired of it? But maybe, just maybe there was a slight chance this time, and so he continued. "And now the Cult of Skaro has been eradicated, leaving only you. Right now you're facing the only man in the universe who might show you some compassion. Because I've just seen one genocide. I won't cause another. Caan, let me help you. What do you say?"

He actually meant what he had just said. I some way it was not even their fault. They never had a chance. Sec was about to give them one, give them hope, but they had acted in the only way they could. Apart from that, who was he to judge? After destroying his homeworld... No, he couldn't kill the last Dalek in existence. Maybe someone else could do it. Maybe Mira would, if she just had a chance. But-

"Emergency temporal shift!"

The cables attached to it fell off and he disappears.

He ran towards it, but he was to late. As he reached the place where Caan had just been, it was gone. Again. One Dalek left, and he had no idea where it was and what it was hatching now.

Well, then, that was it then. Planet Earth saved again one Dalek survived, again, so, back to the TARDIS and-

"Doctor! Doctor! He's sick!" he heard Martha yelling.

He turned around and saw her and Tallulah help Laszlo, who was wheezing and sweating.

"It's okay. You're all right," Martha said, and then turned to him. "It's his heart. It's racing like mad. I've never seen anything like it."

"What is it, Doctor? What's the matter with him?" Tallulah wanted to know. "He says he can't breathe? What is it?"

"It's time, sweetheart," Laszlo breathed.

"What do you mean, time? What are you talking about?"

"None of the slaves survive for long. Most of them only live for a few weeks. I was lucky. I held on because I had you. But now, I'm dying, Tallulah."

"No, you're not. Not now, after all this. Doctor, can't you do something?" Tallulah said and looked at him.

Could he? Actually, probably he could. The Daleks might have one again, and even if he couldn't help himself, at least he could do something for Laszlo.

"Oh, Tallulah with three Ls and an H, just you watch me," he said and started running through the room. "What do I need? Oh, I don't know. How about a great big genetic laboratory? Oh look, I've got one. Laszlo, just you hold on. There's been too many deaths today." He got some stuff he could need. "Way too many people have died. Brand new creatures and wise old men and age old enemies. And I'm telling you, I'm telling you right now, I am not having one more death! You got that? Not one. Tallulah, out of the way. The Doctor is in!"

 **...**

They were walking through Central Park, back on their way to the TARDIS. With them was Frank, Tallulah and Laszlo.

"Well, I talked to them, and I told them what Solomon would've said, and I reckon I shamed one or two of them," Frank said.

He had no doubt that Frank would find his way, just as Solomon would have wanted it. He needed to become a bit more sensible and less hot headed, but that would come.

"What did they say?" he asked.

"They said yes. They'll give you a home, Laszlo. I mean, er, don't imagine people ain't going to stare. I can't promise you'll be at peace but, in the end, that is what Hooverville is for. People who ain't got nowhere else."

"Thank you. I can't thank you enough," Laszlo said. And off they went, he and Tallulah.

"Do you reckon it's going to work, those two?" Martha asked later, when they were back at the island, already seeing the TARDIS.

"I don't know," he replied. "Anywhere else in the universe, I might worry about them, but New York? That's what this city's good at. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and maybe the odd pig slave Dalek mutant hybrid too."

He smiled slightly at her. He new he was still under the impression of what had just happened, but he knew it had to go on, somehow.

"The pig and the showgirl," Martha said and smiled back.

"The pig and the showgirl," he repeated.

"It just proves it, I suppose. There's someone for everyone," Martha said.

He looked at her, and out of the corner of his eye he saw that Mira had the same, slightly sad look on her face as there must have been on his.

"Maybe," he said quietly.

"Meant to say, I'm sorry," Martha said.

"What for?"

"Just because that Dalek got away. I know what that means to you. Think you'll ever see it again?"

"Oh, yes. One day," he said, and for a second he envied Martha. She still didn't really comprehend what that meant. Maybe wouldn't even live to see that day.

Then he hurried to follow Mira, who had already unlocked the door and was holding it open for him and Martha.

* * *

 _OneWhoReadsTooMuch, bored411, djmegamouth, AxidentlGoddess, Type40TARDIS, NeoMulder, and unknown Guest: Thanks for reviewing :-)_


	74. Chapter 74 - Closing In

**Chapter LXXIV**

 _Martha's POV_

She was reeking of sewers. Not to mention the dirt and dust and... things she didn't want to examine any further that covered her clothes. She just wanted to get rid of them, have a shower and then sleep. She should also eat something, her stomach was grumbling pretty loud every now and then, but she felt too tired.

Was there a shower on this ship somewhere? She was somehow reluctant to ask him to bring her to her flat, who could say if he would pick her up again?

She looked around the console room, and her eyes fell on Mira, who was looking at her in return. Suddenly the other woman turned around to the Doctor and asked, "Do you have a spare-room anywhere in this huge ship of yours?"

He looked at Mira out of narrowed eyes for a moment, as if he had to think about it, then he said, "Yeah, down the corridor, turn left, third turn right, right again, second left, second door on the right."

 _What?_

He had spoken in his usual fast way, and she was far too tired to really grasp the meaning, not speaking of remembering the directions he just gave her. He could really show her, couldn't he? It was his ship, and she was a guest here. But instead, he turned to the console and pressed some buttons. Obviously he thought it done with telling her where to go.

She heard Mira sigh, and then say to her, "Okay, well, come, I'll show you."

She followed the other woman down the stairs, and as they were around the second corner, Mira said quietly, "Don't take it personally."

"Why would I?" she asked in return, feeling weirdly caught. Yes, she actually was taking it slightly personally, was slightly disappointed that he didn't even show her the room.

"Just saying," Mira replied lightly.

 _Of course she knows._

Despite her being tired and exhausted, she began to understand what it meant to deal with an empath. Sure, most other people would have said just the same as Mira had, but she would have stood a chance to convince them of the opposite. Not so with her. She would always know for certain.

Finally, they reached the door and Mira pushed it open. The room was of a decent size, with furniture that looked just like... Well, normal. Normal human, western furniture as you could find it at IKEA. It was in bright colours, white and light brown wood, but still cosy and comfortable. A door on the far side of the room was leading into a small bathroom.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Mira asked, still standing next to the door.

She looked as if she was about to leave her here on her own, and why wouldn't she? But she didn't want to be alone right now. At least not just _now_.

"How you confronted the Daleks," she said, not really knowing why she was bringing it up now, "Saying you represent all of mankind – that was pretty cool. Sort of," she added when she realised how she must sound right now. "I don't think I would have dared."

Mira just looked at her for a moment, and she couldn't guess for the life of her what she was thinking.

"Yeah, well," Mira replied eventually, "Thanks I guess. Don't worry, I certainly wouldn't have dared when I was your age."

"Well, that can't be too long ago then, can it?" she said before she couldn't help herself.

Well, Mira _was_ looking young, around her own age, but she could as well be around thirty. Still not much of a difference. So what had happened since she had been 'younger'?

"You're with the military then? Or some sort of representative in your universe?" she hurried to say before Mira could answer her last question, hoping she would just ignore it.

"Yeah, sort of. Both actually, more or less" Mira replied, as fast as she herself had asked her next question.

And for the first time she had the feeling she could actually guess what was going on in Mira's head. Was she glad she had dropped the age-question? Glad she changed topic?

"So, anyway, if you need something, do you think you'll find the way back?"

"Honestly, I'm not too sure..."

"Don't worry, I'll come back in an hour or so and see if you need something, okay?"

"Sure, thanks."

"See you then," Mira replied, left the room and closed the door behind her.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She had went to the kitchen. She felt as far away from sleep as anyone could feel, so she had decided to make some coffee. Now she was listening to the wheezing and dripping of the coffee machine, standing at the counter, leaning on her elbows, her head hanging down. Not that the coffee would wake her up any further – she was a self-confessed caffeine addict for centuries now, and by now it was merely a placebo effect whenever she felt more awake after a cup of coffee in the morning.

No, she wasn't even _feeling_ tired any more, so there really was no way the coffee would keep her from sleeping. It was as if someone had flipped a switch in her head, flipped it from being exhausted and feeling physically tired to feeling fully awake and rested. She couldn't quite say when it had happened, but most likely at some point when she had confronted the Daleks to buy the Doctor some time. She knew this weirdly restless and driven feeling, and even though she felt rather great right now, she knew how dangerous it was, and where it had led her the last time she had leaned into it. Sure, between then and now were hours and hours of therapy, not to speak of all the months, years and centuries that had past.

But despite all that, it had continued to creep up every now and then, with the only difference she now knew how to handle it. But this time, something was different. It was as if she could really see clearly now that she wasn't just lost in another time, or another galaxy. That had happened before, and she had had to learn to find something else to trust in and to rely on if almost nothing, neither time nor place – were certain. There was something bigger, something that just _was,_ something that would outlast everything; herself, her friends, Earth, even most of the stars and galaxies. It was the beginning and the end, and in between, as long as she herself was alive, it was always there. Wrapping around everything, penetrating everything, keeping it all together. The Universe itself as something constant, besides everything in it constantly and ever changing.

She had grown aware of her special connection to the universe over time, and realised that not everyone was able to feel it like she did. And even the rare times she had been out of her own universe, she had still felt a connection. It had been fragile, subtle, and faint, but it _had been there_.

Now everything was different. She was floating, falling – and slowly but surely loosing grip on reality. This feelings now of alertness and energy, even though she was absolutely sleep deprived, were just the beginning. She knew it. It was her brain's special way to keep her from completely drowning into depression, from giving up; a last and desperate attempt to find a way out, to focus one last time; to save her – but what if there was no way out?

No goal to reach, nothing to work towards to? She completely and utterly ran out of options. Even if she was able to search this universe for a way out, parsec by parsec, there was a good chance there simply was none and she was merely hunting ghosts. It was frightening enough to be able to watch all this – watching oneself slowly going mad, even if there was a fair chance to make it within reach. But what would happen this time, when there was no chance at all?

And, if that wouldn't be enough, now, now of all times, she was about to fall in love again. Sure, she had had a crush on someone every now and then in her life. Most of the times it was nothing but desire – physical desire – knowing exactly that with most people she would never be on the same level and able to have a relationship with someone as equals. To begin with, her planning horizon was completely different than that of normal humans. She was so much ahead, experience-wise – it was like some hundred year old guy hooking up with a woman of twenty years. There was, in most cases at least, next to no common ground.

Of course, she was still human after all, and friendships worked pretty well, but when it got closer, got to actually share her life with someone - _every_ aspect of her life - there were not only gaps but wide, deep, dark abysms between her and the other person.

So, even if she really felt every now and then like falling in love, then she could simply sit it out, blame it on her hormones or something like that. It would pass, as it always did.

But with him? Oh, she had tried it. She actually _was_ _still_ trying it. But, may it be due to her overall miserable mental state, or due to other things she wasn't aware of, it so didn't work. Sometimes she thought that maybe she was on a good way to handle the whole situation, to handle herself, but then there was a look of him, a touch of hands, and it all came back with a vengeance.

She could not even say what it was about the Doctor (she didn't even know his real name – as if that would matter in any way) that made her consider to share her life with someone again.

Actually, she considered herself pretty much unable to maintain a relationship. Sure, she had been married, but that hat been under – well, not really normal circumstances. _He_ had been anything but normal. In the end, he had known her better than she knew herself, without him being psychic or anything even remotely like that. They just had been made for each other. Simple as that. He had been _the one_ , even though she had refused to believe in the concept of there being 'the one' before. And even though she had thought she had been prepared for the moment when he would die, she had been utterly devastated. But then again, probably one couldn't really be prepared for that. It had taken quite long after his death until she had even considered to reach out to anyone else again.

But, apart from that, she had had little success with this topic. She had tried it, with humans and with aliens, and failed miserably. She had blamed it on the fact that she was immortal, and it simply couldn't work out, even though her father had proved the opposite, more than once.

But it wasn't that easy. She had had a relationship with Atlan, some years – centuries – after her husband had died. Atlan was immortal like her and had been much older than her back then, and it had worked for incredibly hundred-and-fifty years or so. Sure, they had known each other for centuries before they finally came together, they had started out on a whole different level - and maybe that had been the reason it had lasted for that long. But it worked, all in all, until they had been separated, quite suddenly, and she – as anyone else – hadn't known if he was still alive and if she would ever see him again.

But they had met again eventually. Four-hundred years later. Only to realise that he had changed, as well as she had changed – and they had been more a stranger to each other than the moment they had first met. It had been painful to realise, and even more painful to accept it, but over time they had become friends again. And even though she still loved him, still loved who he had been once they had been together (Why would she not? Not loving him any more would mean to regret it, and she didn't regret a single moment.), there was no way back to that time ever again. They both agreed on that. It simply wasn't possible to erase four-hundred years; to undo what time had done to them. It was sad, even tragic - but once they both realised it, they finally made their peace with it and moved on. Always remembering the years they had shared and that they had once been lovers.

So she had reached the conclusion that it must be her – she couldn't blame it on anyone or anything else. Well, maybe on her being an empath, which was difficult in a relationship anyway, but that would come down to it being _her_ as well. She was at peace with it, at least most of the times. It didn't mean she couldn't have the occasional affair or even a bit more. But not much more than that. If staying alone would spare herself a lot of emotional stress and pain as well as leaving behind scorched earth for both, and then having to gather up the shards and what little else was left after a break up, then it was more than worth it. It even outweighed by far the occasional feeling of loneliness she could feel creeping up on her in those quiet moments when she was all on her own.

So why in hell did she even consider to give up what had served her well for centuries because of _him_? And why was she thinking about it now, of all moments? Not that she had other, more pressing problems at hand. Was it her mind playing tricks? Well, if it would keep her from going mad for a little longer, then-

"You know," she suddenly heard the Doctor behind her and startled, losing grip of the mug she had just taken from the counter. It slid dangerously close to the edge of the counter. "Humans have a concept known as 'sleep'," he continued seemingly unimpressed. "You should try it, though I have to admit it sounds pretty boring."

"What is it with you sneaking up on me all the time?" she said and spun around on her heels.

She saw that the mug was falling down the counter, but before she could even move the Doctor had made a step forwards and grabbed it halfway on its way down to the floor.

"Am I?" he replied as she reached out to grab the mug from him, but he hold it out of her reach. "Or maybe you're just a bit overtired and on edge."

He stared at her for a moment, almost as if trying to read her mind, bent slightly forward, his face quite close to her own, holding her mug behind his back. "Maybe you should cut short on the coffee!"

"What?" she said and watched as he walked over to the kettle.

He had changed into his brown suite again, and also his hairdo looked slightly different.

"You know that there's caffeine in tea as well?" she asked and opened the cupboard. But it was empty. She could have sworn that not ten minutes ago it was filled with cups.

"Yeah, not every tea though. Just the real thing. Let's see... We have... Oh, that's nice. Camomile. Lavender, valerian..." he said as he browsed through the cupboard.

"Valerian? Really? What's it to you how much coffee I drink? Give me the cup!"

"Well, technically, it's nothing to me. Practically though – I guess it's just my _emotions getting in the way_. Sorry for that."

She stared at him for a moment as he poured the boiling water into the mug, and a strong smell of camomile filled the air. He didn't say that, did he? Was he in for confrontation now? He didn't look like it though, but who could tell with him. No, it was most likely just her who had done more damage than she had wanted with her words.

Whatever was the case, she couldn't deal with any more arguments and fights now. Not in her current state, not without losing it and causing even more damage. Probably it was best to not say anything at all. Instead, she sat down on the table. He followed a moment later, sitting down on the next chair to her around the corner, after placing the mug, the fruit-bowl and a plate with muffins on it in front of her on the table.

He took one of the muffins, but instead of eating it he just turned it in his hands and then put it back on the table. Then there was nothing but silence between them, apart from the TARDIS quietly humming to herself.

She should really ask him why he was about to sacrifice himself. And if he was human, she would have no problem of dealing with whatever had driven him. She had studied Psychology after all, and not only that. She was a trained psychotherapist, even though she had never actually practised it, and yes, it was slightly more than just a few years ago. But she felt totally able to deal with Martha if she would have any problems coping with what just happened. But with him? He who had asked the species who was responsible for the death of his people to kill him? A species who just had to catch up with him time and time again?

"Why did you have to confront the Daleks?" he eventually broke the silence. "You were aware of the fact that they most likely would have kept you, weren't you? That's why I asked Martha."

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He had noticed the change about her almost as soon as she had spun around to him. Well, probably he had already realised it back on Earth, but there had been no time for it. And, he had to admit, he had been occupied by other things. But now he saw it. All tiredness was gone from her eyes, from her whole posture. Instead she seemed weirdly driven and restless, even now as she was sitting on the table, not moving apart from dangling her bare foot.

She had obviously taken a shower, for her hair was hanging loose and slowly drying, and he could smell a faint scent of lavender and cloves. She was only dressed in a loose, black dress with wide, long sleeves that just covered her knees. Wasn't she cold, barefooted like that?

Now she turned her head to him, looking at him quite dumbfounded.

"And what do you think they would have done to Martha once they got tired of her?" she replied. "Do I need to remind you of Skaro? How quick they were with exterminating the people there? I was actually hoping that they would scan me and take me for important enough to let me live."

Oh well, there definitely was some logic to it, he thought. Actually quite a lot logic. More than he liked. They wouldn't have killed Martha for asking a few questions, would they?

"And then, in the theatre," he decided to drop the previous topic. No need to pursue if one couldn't win. "You didn't need to come up on the chairs with me and face them. I mean, I almost dare say I'm not the only one letting his emotions get in the way."

She blinked at him, an expression on her face he knew all to well by know. She was about to explode. Well, no surprise here, although he couldn't really say why he was provoking her. Or even if he actually was trying to provoke her. Yes, maybe he did. If it was his fault to let his emotions get in the way too often, then it was hers to not listen to her feelings. She could not really rationalise everything, could she?

"At least I didn't ask them to kill me!" she yelled at him. Oh well, seemed as if he really knew her by now. At least when it came to the being-about-to-explode part. "What else was I supposed to do, hm? Let you get shot? Leave Martha – and me, by the way – stranded in the 1920s? Do you really want to know why I was up there with you?" she asked, but didn't wait for a reply. "I was hoping to push you down before they shoot you! Oh, and, just in case you wonder, she's fine. Martha. She's sleeping, I just checked on her."

"Fine!" he replied. "You wanted her with us!"

Well, at least in the beginning it had been her idea. He braced himself for whatever words she was about to throw at him next, but, to his surprise, she covered her face with her hands, saying quietly, "I know."

Then she looked up and at him again. There was no anger, no rage, in her face any more.

"I know," she repeated quietly and then continued watching him, biting her lip.

He suddenly felt drawn back to when they had been in the console room together for the first time, just after he had rescued her. She had just looked at him, like no human ever had before. And she had been able to see who he was. He suddenly felt naked under her look, very naked. Well, maybe naked wasn't the right word – exposed, that was it. He couldn't help it but he had to lower his gaze.

"I'm sorry," she finally said quietly. "But I don't know what to do. I mean, I know quite a lot now, about you, and the Daleks, even though I can't even begin to understand what it must mean to be confronted by them time and time again, after all they did. And frankly, I still can't get my head around that you would actually have helped Caan, that you stopped me from destroying Skaro." He looked up and in her eyes again, as she continued. "Honestly, I can't. If it was for me I would have freed the universe from them at the first opportunity. I..." She paused and looked down, her next words were almost inaudible. "Maybe... I think I would have thought like you once, a long time ago. I always considered myself quite forgiving. But obviously not any more."

She looked up at him again as if she wanted him to say something. But he didn't dare. He could feel that the whole atmosphere, everything between them, had changed, if only for this one moment. It was just them now, no provocations, no games, and, maybe, no hiding. He had no idea if and when such a moment would ever come again, so he didn't dare to break it by saying something wrong.

"Well," she finally continued, "And then you wanted them to kill you. You must have known that that wouldn't change a thing. They would have continued, continued until no one is left. So... _Why_?"

It seemed that now she actually was waiting for an answer. He was still afraid to say something wrong, so he tried it with at least half of the truth.

"Mira, I.. I just lost it. It was stupid, okay? And you might want to remember that one and mark this day somewhere, it's not often that I admit I did something stupid, so..." Oh well. He suddenly stopped himself, realising he started to babble again. "I lost it. Won't happen again."

"Sure?" she asked and suddenly took his hand that was resting on the table. For a moment he thought she wanted to get into telepathic contact, but she didn't even try it. She was really only holding his hand.

"Listen," she continued, "I still think there's more than you told me. I... I know it. I mean, I heard what the Beast said on Kroptor, and then the Daleks... And I don't think it's something particularly good. Quite the opposite. And I know how hard it is to live with... with something one did and... to deeply regret it. That sort of regret which is not only regret but guilt. I almost might say guilt is the hardest feeling to live with. And-" She paused as if she was thinking about what to say. If to say something. "I know it can drive one to do weird things. And just because I am absolutely incapable of talking about me and my problems doesn't mean you can't talk to me about yours."

Now it was on him to be utterly dumbfounded. Did she know how close she was? Had he really done that out of feeling guilty? No, no way, he hadn't thrown himself in front of the Dalek's weapons out of guilt. He had been tired, and he had lost it.

 _Really?_

His thoughts were racing, and somewhere between all these thoughts he found time to wonder if that's what humans meant when they say their heads were spinning.

"By the way," she said now, and he tried to focus again, "I think I saw my fare share of things someone could felt guilty for in my life. Enough to make me question if there actually is something like good and evil, because a lot of evil things started out with the best intentions, so... Well. As said, if you ever feel like talking, then - don't hesitate."

"Thank you," he said quietly, not being able to think about anything else to say.

It was of course out of the question to tell her what he had done. He wanted to, at least some part of him. He just wanted to tell her, to make her understand. But, most of all he realised, he wanted her to absolve him from his guild, from what he had done. But of course, she couldn't do that. No one could, not even he himself. There was no absolution for his deeds.

"But there's nothing I would have to talk about," he added. "But you should really get some sleep now, hm?"

"If I only could," she sighed, seemingly accepting that their conversation was over.

"Well, I could read something to you, if you want... Worked once. Although I didn't expect to be that boring when reading to someone..." he said and managed a lob sided grin.

He watched how she looked down at his hand she was still holding. He wanted her to say yes, and somehow he was almost certain she secretly wanted the same.

"Some other time maybe," she said finally, stood up and headed for the door.

After a few steps she turned around again, grabbed the mug and one of the muffins.

"Have a good night," she said and was gone.

* * *

 _AxidentlGoddess, djmegamouth, NeoMulder, OneWhoReadsToMuch (did you change your nick?), bored411: Thanks for leaving a review_ :-)


	75. Chapter 75 - The Lazarus Experiment Pt 1

**Chapter LXXV**

 _Mira's POV_

She had went to bed and tried to sleep for several hours. Maybe she even fell asleep for one or two – she couldn't say. There was so much to think about. Like the problems the Doctor was obviously having. He was keeping from something from her, probably keeping it from everyone. She had no idea what it could be. Sure, what the Beast had said on Kroptor was pretty clear, but she refused to believe he was the killer of his own kind. That was an absolutely horrible accusation. His people had died in the war against the Daleks. At least the part about the war was true, that much she had figured out by now from her encounters with the Daleks. But who had really started it? It certainly hadn't been him. There was a lot a single man could do – good God, she of all people knew that. But murder his own kind? How?

No, it couldn't be true. He didn't seem like a cold blooded murderer. Even the short and rather superficial contacts she had had with his mind had shown her that this couldn't be true.

Well, but then again, no one would take her for a murderer – and yet, there was most likely quite a lot of blood on her own hands. Sure, she hadn't wanted that to happen - it all had gone horribly wrong, and it had started out in the very best intentions, to save her own galaxy, but that didn't make her any less responsible.

Then there was the Face of Boe. He had seemed to know him – and her, as for that – rather well. He hadn't said anything bad about him either. She only wished the Face of Boe would have told her more, apart from the fact that she was obviously doomed to stay here for quite some time. But for how long?

And what he had said about her relationship to the Doctor – how had he meant that? On what level? Friends, lovers? If he really had seen her future, then, whatever he had seen, was inevitable. That was the whole point in time travel. The future was written, more or less fixed, already existing.

 _He's here - you are here. Don't think so much of what could be, what must not be or what might come out of all this._

That was what the Face of Boe had said. If it only would be that easy. Well, essentially, it was. She knew pretty much exactly what she wanted. She wanted to get to know him better, in and out, quite literally in their case as both being psychic. She wanted to be there for him, even though she might not be able to help him with whatever was haunting him. She wanted to lay in his arms, feeling safe and secure and at peace with everything – most of all with her own racing mind. And yes, she had to admit, she wanted more than just laying in his arms. She had tried to forget, but she couldn't get out of her head how it had felt to ruffle his hair, how cool and soft his lips had been on hers, just as the strength of his body when he was hugging her. Even though she knew very well that his physical appearance was sort of temporary. But even his previous self had had that winning smile, that warm look in his eyes, that child-like enthusiasm that made her forget everything else when looking in his eyes.

 _ _And here we go again. Worrying about things to come.__

But what was stopping her then? She tried listened to herself for a moment, but there seemed to be no answer. Had she really grown old and bitter by now? So much trying to protect herself that she just couldn't raze the walls she had built around her? Had she grown too reasonable? Reasonable to a level of self-denial?

Anyway, no matter where all this was leading, she realised they finally had to put their cards on the table. It had been nice, all this playing games and flirting, but she was now slowly but surly at a point where she couldn't bear it any longer. Even if it meant going back to where it all began, to "just friends and companions, nothing more", it was all better than this.

They had to talk, or at least renew the promise they had given to each other. She was in desperate need for some clarity, at least to some points in her life, the sooner the better.

* * *

 _ _Doctor's POV__

He hadn't wanted to wake Mira up, so he had looked after Martha – finding her awake and so they had went for breakfast in the kitchen. She had, back to her usual self, drilled him with questions about all sorts of things, but thankfully, as he had went further into the mathematics of block transfer matrices, the principle the interior configuration of the TARDIS was based on, she had stopped asking any further questions.

She had also asked where they would go next, but he had only said that it would be a rather special and unique place.

Now they were standing in the console room and he reached out for the handbrake.

"There we go," he said and his eyes fell on Mira who was just walking up the stairs. "Perfect landing. Which isn't easy in such a tight spot."

"You should be used to tight spots by now," Martha replied. "Where are we?"

"The end of the line. No place like it," he said and followed Martha with his eyes as she opened the door.

"Home," he heard her from outside. "You took me home?"

He followed her, together with Mira. With the three of them and the TARDIS the small space was quite cramped.

"In fact, the morning after we left," he explained, "So you've only been gone about twelve hours. No time at all, really."

"But all the stuff we've done," Martha said and turned around to him. "Shakespeare, New New York, old New York?"

"Welcome to time travel," Mira said quietly. "Better this way than the other way around."

"What?" he asked baffled. Well, he had gotten it wrong, spent somewhere thinking it had only been five minutes and came back much later, but she couldn't know that, could she? Or what else had she meant?

"Anyway," he continued as she didn't reply but just continued to look around in the room, "Yep, well, all in one night, relatively speaking. Everything should be just as it was. Books, CDs, laundry," he picked up one of the clothes hanging on the laundry rack. It happened to be one of her undies. She snatched it from his hand. "So, back were you were, as promised."

"This is it?"

"Yeah, I should probably er-" he started, but got interrupted by the phone.

The answering machine started up, "Hi, I'm out. Leave a message."

"I'm sorry," Martha said.

"Martha, are you there? Pick it up, will you?" a female voice was heard. He had heard it before, but-

"It's Mum. It'll wait," Martha explained.

"All right then, pretend that you're out if you like," her mum continued. "I was only calling to say that your sister's on TV. On the news of all things. Just thought you might be interested," and hung up.

Martha turned on the television, and they all turned around to listen.

"The details are top secret," an elderly man announced.

"How could Tish end up on the news?" Martha mumbled.

There was a young woman standing next to the man, obviously her sister then.

"Tonight, I will demonstrate a device which will redefine our world," the man continued.

"She's got a new job. PR for some research lab," Martha said quietly.

"With the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human!"

He didn't really pay attention to it, instead he was more worried how Martha would take the goodbye now. It must be clear to her by know that that was it.

"Sorry. You were saying we should?" Martha turned to him, after she was done listening to the television.

"Yes, yes, we should," he said slowly. "One trip is what we said."

"Yeah. I suppose things just kind of escalated," Martha said and smiled sadly.

"Mmm. Seems to happen to me a lot," he said, trying not to think about the fact that he would actually miss her.

"Thank you. For everything," she said, looking quite sad now.

"Bye Martha," Mira said and waved at Martha. "Nice meeting you." Then she went back into the TARDIS.

"See you," Martha said to her.

"It was my pleasure," he replied to her thanking him and then went back inside as well, closing the door behind him.

Inside he went to the console, released the handbrake and was about to dematerialise the TARDIS. But just then, something popped up in his mind. He stopped in his tracks and looked at Mira.

"Wait," he said.

"What?" She looked at him, puzzled.

"What did he say?"

"Who?"

"The guy on TV."

"Don't know, something about some world changing device?" he heard her voice behind him.

He had pulled the handbrake again, rushed to the door, opened it and stuck his head out. Martha was still there, looking at him quite confused.

"No, I'm sorry," he said to her. "Did he say he was going to change what it means to be human?"

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

There she had thought it was over. He would just take off and never come back. But no, he had heard what had been on television and came back. Well, probably only because he needed her to get to the presentation of that new, world-changing device, but still. At least she could spent a bit more time with him.

She was supposed to meet him outside of the Lazarus Laboratories, and he arrived just in time. Of course, Mira was with him. He looked really good in black tie, and Mira was wearing a black, flared dress with long and wide sleeves which were made out of black chiffon. The dress had a rather high neckline with pearls stitched around it like a necklace. It was rather short, a bit too short – just reaching to the middle of her thighs – for herself to consider wearing it to such an occasion, but it suited Mira rather well. Her hair was wound into some rather complicated looking updo, framing her face quite nicely. All in all maybe a tiny bit too sixties, but hey, this look was coming again, wasn't it? Yeah, well, she could see why the Doctor had fallen for her, but she herself didn't look to bad today either. Instead for mini-skirt she had gone for sleeveless.

"Oh, black tie," the Doctor said as they walked towards the entrance, "Whenever I wear this, something bad always happens."

"It's not the outfit, that's just you. Anyway, I think it suits you," she replied. "In a James Bond kind of way."

"James Bond?!" he said and looked at her aghast. Then he added, almost sounding a bit flattered, "Really?"

At the door he showed his Psychic Paper, and, for she was on the list anyway, they were in. The atmosphere in the reception room was rather sober, maybe due to all the technical devices it was filled with. In the middle of the room, on a circular dais, was a chamber, made out of some frosted, white material, big enough for a man to fit into. It was surrounded by four upright posts.

Apart from that the room was filled with the guests, some musicians were playing and a waiter was passing by with a tray of food.

"Oh, look, they've got nibbles!" the Doctor exclaimed as he took some. "I love nibbles."

She looked around, but couldn't see Mira. Probably she was looking around on her own. Well, not that she would mind much. Then she spotted her sister.

"You look great," Tish said after they had greeted each other. "So, what do you think? Impressive, isn't it?"

"Very," she replied.

"And two nights out in a row for you. That's dangerously close to a social life," Tish said.

It took her a moment to grasp the meaning of it. Of course, it had only been two nights for Tish. Much more for herself though.

"If I keep this up, I'll end up in all the gossip columns," she tried to joke.

"You might, actually," Tish replied. "You should keep an eye out for photographers. And Mum, she's coming too. Even dragging Leo along with her."

"Leo in black tie? That I must see." Suddenly she realised, judging from Tish's look, that the Doctor was standing behind her, and she hadn't introduced him yet. "This is, er, the Doctor."

"Hello," he said and beamed at Tish.

"Is he with you?" Tish asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

Just then Mira came back and stopped next to the Doctor.

"But he's not on the list. How did he get in?" Tish wanted to know.

"He's my plus one," she said.

"And who's she?" Tish asked now, looking at Mira. "Your plus _two_?"

"I'm just a colleague of his. I got an invitation just shortly. I'm surprised I'm not on your list. Must be a mistake," Mira replied as if Tish had actually made an error. "Mira Rhodan, University of Warsaw, Department for Molecular-Physics."

"S- Sorry," Tish said, as if trying to remember what she had missed.

"So," the Doctor said, rescuing Tish from that awkward moment, "This Lazarus, he's your boss?"

"Professor Lazarus, yes. I'm part of his executive staff," Tish replied.

"She's in the PR department," she explained.

"I'm head of the PR department, actually," Tish protested.

"You're joking."

No way Tish was head of a whole department at her age.

"I put this whole thing together," Tish said indignantly.

"So do you know what the professor's going to be doing tonight?" the Doctor asked, saving the moment once again. "That looks like it might be a sonic microfield manipulator."

"He's a science geek," Tish replied and eyed him from the side. "I should have known. Got to get back to work now. I'll catch up with you later."

Martha watched as she walked away.

"Science geek? What does that mean?" the Doctor asked, his head over her shoulder.

"That your obsessively enthusiastic about it."

"Oh, nice," he replied and smiled as if she had made him the biggest of all compliments.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

"Warsaw?" he asked Mira as they both stood in front of the white chamber. "Why Warsaw?"

"Why not? Just came to my mind," she replied without looking away from the machine. "Could have said Stockholm just as well."

"You don't sound Swedish."

"Neither do I sound Polish."

No, indeed, she didn't. He turned his head to her. He had to admit she was looking good tonight – for a human, that is. Well, he could see she had lost a bit of weight – she looked even more fragile than when he had met her – but she still had something about her that caused the people in here turn their heads and look at her. And certainly not in a shocked or negative way, that much he could read in their faces.

"So, what do you think that is?" he asked and nodded over to the machine.

"Don't know," she replied, grabbing some food as another waiter came by. "And I don't think anyone in here knows. They are all pretty much curious." She shrugged. "It's weird, but it does look slightly out of time. Not really like human technology. Maybe from the future, but not from this time."

"Hm," he said. "We'll see. Never heard of this Lazarus guy before."

"I guess it's safe to say he likes to surround himself with young, beautiful women."

"What?"

"Look around," she said.

And, indeed, there was Tish – and two young, attractive women in lab-coats looking over all the meters and devices.

"Maybe that's coincidence," he said, not totally convinced.

"Maybe."

He turned around and saw Martha talking to her family. He put one hand on Mira's shoulder and let her over to them.

"Ah, here he is," Martha said as they arrived. "This is a friend of mine. The Doctor."

"Doctor what?" her mother asked instead of greeting him.

It was not so much the question but the look she gave him, which made him alert.

"No, it's just the Doctor," Martha said, "We've been doing some work together. And with his colleague, Mira."

"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs Jones," he said, and let go of Mira's shoulder. "Heard a lot about you."

"Have you?" her mother replied. "What have you heard, then?"

"Oh, you know, that you're Martha's mother and..." he tried to make something up. Normally that was working. It was called small-talk, no questions, just babbling. "Er, no, actually, that's about it. We haven't had much time to chat. You know, been busy."

"Busy?" she asked now. "Doing what, exactly?"

Great, he wouldn't get off the hook that easy.

"Oh you know. Stuff," he replied, tugging at his earlobe.

But, thankfully, Professor Lazarus himself saved him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Richard Lazarus", he announced, and everyone turned their attention to him. One of the young ladies in a lab-coat was standing next to him. Maybe Mira was right, he liked to surround himself with youth. He listened as the Professor continued, "And tonight I am going to perform a miracle. It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom, the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight, you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow, you will wake to a world which will be changed forever."

With that said, he went inside the chamber. The two women started the machine, and the columns around it started to rotate around the chamber. Faster and faster, seemingly drawing energy to it. The whole room was bathed in bright, blue light. Then, suddenly, an alarm sounded.

"Something's wrong. It's overloading!" he yelled and rushed over to the controls, jumping over the table they were sitting on.

They were smoking and sending sparks flying. He tried to fix it with his Sonic Screwdriver – but with little success. It should work with technology from this time, and yet-

"Somebody stop him!" an elderly woman yelled, "Get him away from those controls!"

"If this thing goes up, it'll take the whole building with it," he replied, "Is that what you want?"

He tried it again with the Sonic, but it didn't do anything. He jumped over the table again, but there was Mira, already pulling at a big cable and the machine finally stopped.

She swung the end of the cable with the plug and smiled at him.

"You're brilliant," he said and smiled back, then they both hurried over to the chamber.

Martha was there before them, opening the door. He braced himself for the worst, but the Professor seemed to be alive and well, as he stumbled out of the chamber. Well, at least he was alive. And he looked quite well. A lot younger, most of all.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus," he said, "I am seventy six years old and I am reborn!"

The people started to applause. Then he got pushed away by photographers, and with Mira and Martha at his side, he went back some steps.

"It can't be the same guy," Martha said. "It's impossible. It must be a trick."

"I'm afraid it's not a trick, Martha. It's still him. I feel it," Mira said.

"What just happened then?" Martha asked.

"He just changed what it means to be human," he replied quietly.

"Changed? Rather eradicated it," Mira said gravely.

He shot her a quick look, before he went over to Lazarus, who was now clear of photographers and grabbing for some food. Actually, for all the food, he had taken the whole tablet.

"Energy deficit," he said to Lazarus as he approached him from behind. "Always happens with this kind of process."

"You speak as if you see this every day, Mister?" Lazarus said and turned to him.

"Doctor," he corrected him. "And well, no, not every day, but I have some experience of this kind of transformation."

"That's not possible," Lazarus replied, quite convinced by his own words.

Oh, if he only knew...

"Using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance," he explained. "That's inspired."

"You understand the theory, then," Lazarus said.

"Enough to know that you couldn't possibly have allowed for all the variables."

"No experiment is entirely without risk," Lazarus said, almost stubborn.

Mira laughed dryly and he saw how she shook her head.

"That thing nearly exploded," he said. "You might as well have stepped into a blender!"

"You're not qualified to comment," the elderly woman interfered.

"It actually was about to explode," Mira said now to the woman. "If we wouldn't have stopped it-"

"Then I thank you, Doctor, and- I don't think I got your name," he turned to Mira.

"Mira. Physicist. And I'm really... I really was into experimenting myself, some time ago, but that-" she said, but Lazarus interrupted her.

"That's a simple engineering issue. What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less."

"Is that so?" Mira asked. "You seem quite certain about that. Wonder why we then need any proper equipment at all to do tests or-"

"Look at me," Lazarus said. "You can see what happened. I'm all the proof you need."

"This device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially," the elderly woman said now. Was it his wife?

"Commercially? You are joking. That'll cause chaos," Martha said now.

"Not chaos, change," Lazarus said. "A chance for humanity to evolve, to improve."

"Improve?" Mira said now, and he could hear how hard she tried to hold herself back.

"This isn't about improving," he hurried to say, "This is about you and your customers living a _little_ longer."

"Not a little longer, Doctor. A lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely," Lazarus replied.

"Indefinitely?" Mira said, now a hold lot calmer, almost dangerously calm "Oh. You know what? You have no idea what you've got yourself into now. You didn't _change_ what it means to be human, you're about to _eradicate_ everything that makes one human."

"Richard, we have things to discuss, upstairs," the old lady said to him before he could reply.

He himself was a little surprised by Mira's fierce reaction. Well, she was right, in one way, but then again he had only reached for what she already had. Immortality. Was she really thinking it would take away everything that defined humanity? What did she consider herself then?

"Goodbye, Doctor, Mira." Lazarus said. "In a few years, you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were."

He kissed Martha's hand and then left with his wife.

"Oh, he's out of his depth," he murmured. "No idea of the damage he might have done."

"So what do we do now?" Martha asked.

"Now? Well, this building must be full of laboratories. I say we do our own tests."

"Lucky I've just collected a DNA sample then, isn't it?" Martha said and hold up the hand Lazarus had just kissed.

"Oh, Martha Jones, you're a star," he said and beamed at her.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

They were in the laboratory, analysing Lazarus's DNA. He had really done it. Well, certainly not without help, but here it was. The dream of immortality, came true. But she had no doubt he would realise, sooner or later, that in truth it had every potential for becoming his very own, personal nightmare. Even more so if he would unleash this technology. Humanity would rage wars because of it.

"Amazing," the Doctor said to the image on the screen.

She had seen it as well, but Martha obviously not.

"What?" Martha asked.

"Lazarus's DNA," the Doctor said as if that would explain it.

"I can't see anything different," Martha replied.

"Look at it."

And then it happened again. It flickered, changed, mutated, but only for the glimpse of an eye. Then it was all quiet again.

"Oh, my God. Did that just change? But it can't have," Martha said now.

"But it did."

"It's impossible."

"And that's two impossible things we've seen so far tonight," the Doctor said and smiled. "Don't you love it when that happens?"

"That means Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns," Martha replied.

"Hypersonic sound waves to destabilise the cell structure, then a metagenic programme to manipulate the coding in the protein strands," he explained. Basically, he hacked into his own genes and instructed them to rejuvenate."

"But he failed at stabilising it," she added.

"Yeah, he missed something," the Doctor confirmed. "Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilise. Something that's trying to change him."

"Now the question is, into what?" she asked and their eyes met. "There's all sort of stuff, laying dormant, in a human DNA. Ages of evolutionary inheritance. It doesn't even need to mutate into something completely new."

"Well, lets find out then," he said quietly, his eyes still locked with hers.

"That woman said they were going upstairs," Martha finally said, breaking the moment.

"Let's go then!" the Doctor said and ran off, she and Martha following him.

 **…**

Little later they arrived in his office. It was empty. Or at least, that was what it looked like. But then Martha pointed to the desk.

"Is that the old lady?"

"Used to be," the Doctor said and they hurried over to her dried out corpse. "Now it's just a shell. Had all the life energy drained out, like squeezing the juice out of an orange."

 _Orange? What in hell?_

"Really?" she said, in a voice that made the Doctor look up at her. "She might have been old already, and yes, she's dried out now. But do you really think your comparison with an juicing an orange is appropriate in any way? She just died a moment ago!"

He looked at her for a moment, as if caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Sorry," he finally said, looking down at the dead body.

"So, Lazarus then?" Martha said quietly.

"Could be," the Doctor replied.

"So he's changed already?"

"Not necessarily," he replied. "You saw the DNA. It was fluctuating. The process must demand energy. This might not have been enough."

"So he might do this again?"

 **…**

They had to find him, before he could kill again. But he wasn't in the reception room. But Martha's mother was, with the Doctor spilling her drink whilst running past her. She yelled after him, but they couldn't stop now. She couldn't help it, but something was telling her that there was more trouble to be expected from Martha's mother.

At least her brother could tell them that he had seen Lazarus not too long ago – together with Tish. They had gone upstairs. So upstairs the ran again.

"Where are they?" Martha asked as they had reached Lazarus's office.

"Fluctuating DNA will give off an energy signature," the Doctor replied as he was scanning with his Sonic. "I might be able to pick it up. Got him!"

"Where?" she asked.

If he was with Tish, then she was in trouble. And if he had been down with her, after murdering his wife, he probably wasn't even aware of what was going on with him.

The Doctor pointed upwards.

"But this is the top floor,"Martha said. "The roof."

And on the roof they found them, not five minutes later.

"And is it like you expected?" Tish just asked Lazarus as the Doctor threw open the door that was leading to the roof.

"I find that nothing's ever exactly like you expect," Lazarus replied. "There's always something to surprise you. Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act-"

"Falls the Shadow," the Doctor completed.

"So the mysterious Doctor knows his Eliot. I'm impressed," Lazarus replied.

"Martha, what are you doing here?" Tish asked, seemingly not very pleased by their appearance.

"Tish, get away from him!" Martha tried to warn her.

"What? Don't tell me what to do."

"I wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus," the Doctor said now, "What with you being busy defying the laws of nature and all."

"You're right, Doctor," Lazarus said, "One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more I'll get done in two or three or four."

"You think so?" she asked before the Doctor could say anything. "One lifetime may be short. But it helps you to stay focused. To get things done, because you exactly know that, at some point, it will be too late to do them. You'll be too old. I strongly believe that's what drives humanity. As well as every other intelligent species."

"You should listen to her," the Doctor fell in as Lazarus remained silent. "In the end it's not about time anyway. Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person."

"What do you know?" he said to her, "Look at you. You're still in your early twenties, aren't you?" Then he turned to the Doctor. "I think it only has to be the right person. What a gift it would be then."

"Or what a curse," the Doctor replied. "Look at what you've done to yourself."

"Who are you to judge me?" Lazarus asked.

 _Right. Who are we – am I – to judge him. I of all people._

But it wasn't that simple. For a start, she wasn't mutating, at least not any more. And what had happened to her genes had happened before she was born.

"Over here, Tish," Martha tried again to get Tish away from Lazarus.

"You have to spoil everything, don't you?" Tish replied. "Every time I find someone nice, you have to go and find fault."

Tish had turned to them, so she couldn't see what happened to Lazarus behind her back. And it didn't look particularly healthy.

"Tish, he's a monster!" Martha yelled now.

"I know the age thing's a bit freaky, but it works for Catherine Zeta-Jones."

Then she turned around and saw what had happened. Lazarus had turned into something like a giant scorpion, the only human thing left about him was his face.

"What's that?" she yelled, utter terror in her voice.

"Run!" she heard the Doctor's voice, and now even Tish didn't object.

* * *

 _OneWhoReadsToMuch, heroherondaletotherescue, bored411, NeoMulder, InfinityMars, MiaEther, djmegamouth, Julia N SnowMiko, Type40TARDIS: Thanks for reading and reviewing :-)_

 _And thanks to everyone who was reading, liking and following this story so far. A happy new year in advance! :-)_


	76. Chapter 76 - The Lazarus Experiment Pt 2

**Chapter LXXVI**

 _Doctor's POV_

He had locked the door with the Sonic Screwdriver, but he was certain that that wouldn't stop Lazarus for long. He was just too strong in his mutated state. And, just as if to confirm his fears, the lights flickered as they had reached the lift, accompanied by loud bangs as Lazarus was trying to get in.

"Are you okay?" Martha asked her sister.

"I was going to snog him."

The next moment they all stood and listened as a voice over the speaker announced, "Security one. Security one. Security one."

Then all the lights went out and the doors closed.

"What's happening?" Martha asked.

"An intrusion," Tish replied. "It triggers a security lock down. Kills most of the power. Stops the lifts, seals the exits."

"He must be breaking through that door," he said and looked around. "The stairs, come on!"

They all hurried down the stairs as he heard a somewhat final, loud crash, followed by a howl. No doubt that Lazarus was in again, so he hurried the others, leading them down to the reception room. They had to evacuate the building.

"Tish, is there another way out of here?" he asked once they were down, remembering that all doors were closed. The people down here didn't seem to have the slightest idea of the danger, he realised.

"There's an exit in the corner, but it'll be locked now," Tish replied.

"Martha, setting fifty four. Hurry," he said and threw the Sonic Screwdriver over to her.

It was too dangerous in here, so she had to get out with the rest of the people in here, and for once she did not object but ran off towards the exit, Tish following her.

"Listen to me!" he yelled. "You people are in serious danger! You need to get out of here right now!"

But, of course, as if he would have guessed, they didn't believe him.

"Don't be ridiculous," a woman said. "The biggest danger here is choking on an olive."

But just then Lazarus appeared on the mezzanine, jumped down, smashed a table, causing the people to panic. He turned his head and saw that Mira was trying to lead the panicking crowd towards the exit.

"Over here!" she yelled. Obviously Martha had managed to open the door. "Everyone downstairs now! Hurry!"

The next moment he saw Lazarus towering over the woman who had believed just a moment ago that there was no danger. She was frozen to the spot, unable to move, staring at the monster in utter terror.

"No! Get away from her!" he yelled, but it was too late, next thing he saw was the corps of the woman falling to the floor, as squeezed out as Lazarus's wife had been.

Then Lazarus turned to Martha's mother and her brother, who seemed to be wounded.

"Lazarus! Leave them alone," he yelled, seeing how Martha and Tish were running to their family, followed by Mira.

"What's the point?" he continued, as Lazarus finally turned to him. "You can't control it!"

Suddenly, Mira was at his side again, slipping the Sonic into his hand. She must have taken it back from Martha.

"The mutation's too strong," he said, making sure he still had Lazarus's full attention. "Killing those people won't help you. You're a fool. A vain old man who thought he could defy nature. Only Nature got her own back, didn't she? You're a joke, Lazarus! A footnote in the history of failure!"

He ducked away as Lazarus was reaching out for him and ran off, reaching out for Mira's hand to pull her with him, but she was already a step ahead.

They hurried through some corridors, and after a few turns they had put some distance between him and them, though they could still hear him following. They were further down now, in the cellar, clambering between pipes and control panels.

Suddenly there was his voice again, "It's no good, Doctor. You and your little friend can't stop me."

"Is that the same arrogance you had when you swore nothing had gone wrong with your device?" he replied, carefully listening.

Lazarus was close, but he couldn't quite say how close.

"The arrogance is yours. You can't stand in the way of progress!" the mutant replied

"Progress? Uncontrollably mutating? You're not only a fool, you're a delusional freak!" Mira shouted, obviously not quite sure herself how far Lazarus was away.

Oh well, he would have rather seen her outside, relatively safe, but at the same time he was glad she was at his side now.

"And let's not forget you feeding on innocent people. Mind you, humans normally don't consider that socially acceptable," he added.

"It is a necessary sacrifice," Lazarus replied.

"That's not your decision to make!"

They made their way through the maintenance corridor for a few more moments, until Mira whispered, "He's getting closer."

"How close?"

He watched her how she turned her head, obviously trying to to make out in which direction she could feel Lazarus. He always found it fascinating to watch her, imagining how it must be for a human to live with her psychic abilities. Not too long ago he would have never believed he would ever meet someone like her; that someone like her could even exist. At times it still seemed a bit surreal to him. But now was not the time to think about that. She suddenly stopped in her tracks to look up, and he followed her eyes.

There he was. Hanging from the ceiling, saying, "Peek a boo," seemingly enjoying hunting them.

"Oh, hello," he replied, and off they ran again, this time they tried to get upstairs. Down here in the cellar it was just too easy for Lazarus to hide and ambush them.

 **…**

Little later they arrived in a laboratory, Lazarus still on their heels.

"So, what now?" Mira asked. "We can't go on like this for forever. I've hoped he would change back, but obviously it's too late for that..."

"Yeah, well, don't think he will do that any time soon," he replied. "Ooh..."

He had spotted something. Bunsen burners. He quite liked them and their never ending supply of gas. He started to take a light fitting apart, then he turned on one of the burners and extinguished the flame, whilst the gas was still turned on. It took Mira only a moment to understand, and she pulled the tube off a gas fitting of another one. He nodded at her approvingly and then he heard Lazarus again.

"More hide and seek? How disappointing. Why don't you come out and face me?"

He turned the gas up as much as possible, then peered over the desk he was hiding behind, "Have you looked in the mirror lately?" He stood up and made sure Mira was at his side. They had to be fast now. "Why would I want to face that, hmm?"

With this said he ran off, pulling Mira with him, hitting the light switch on his way out. Only seconds later – they had made it only a few metres into the corridor – the laboratory exploded. And what an explosion it was. The blast threw them to the floor, where they slid a few feed. He tried to cover Mira with his body, at the same time avoiding to fall right on top of her with his whole weight.

"Well, that went well," he said, jumped up and hold his hand out to help Mira up.

But his smile faded as he saw the look on her face.

"Is he dead?" he asked.

"Nope," she said and looked around, then started running, pulling him with her. "Deadly annoyed, but not dead yet!"

Now he could hear Lazarus as well. Not that he had really wanted to kill him, but on the other hand, there was no way to reason with him, was there? He had tried it.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

And running it was again. Running down to the reception room, as well as running out of options. If they would survive that, she definitely had to talk to the Doctor about his 'no weapons' policy. They would have had Lazarus by now, if she only had a decent weapon. And right now she actually preferred shooting him over being eaten by him.

"We can't leave the building," she said as she followed the Doctor, "We're probably the only reason why he's still in here. We can't let him get away!"

"I know!"

"But I won't have him eat me! What irony, being eaten by someone immortal." They had now almost reached the reception room again, with Lazarus still on their heels. "Wait, he's not immortal yet, is he? If he doesn't go into that machine again, he'll just age and die?"

"Guess so," the Doctor replied, "Wouldn't count on out-waiting that though – could take a while. But he may starve to death..."

"He _will_ get out before that," she replied.

"We can't let that happen," the Doctor replied, "Come on, get in!"

She followed him as he ran over to Lazarus's device.

"That's-"

But before she could protest, he had pulled her with him, inside the chamber and slammed the door shut. It was quite a tight squeeze in there, and they could do little more than to stand and face each other.

"Okay," she said after looking at him for a moment, waiting for him to say something, "I really hate to spoil it, but now we've effectively trapped ourselves."

"But we're save in here," he replied and looked at her out of huge eyes, as if that had been his plan from the very beginning.

"Are we?"

"Oh come on, it's his masterpiece. His ticket to immortality. He won't destroy it just to get us."

"But still, we're trapped. And there I thought you were joking when talking about out-waiting him."

"Joking? I? Never!" he said indignantly. "Well, I'll think of something."

"Oh well, take your time then," she replied. "I'm afraid I just ran out of ideas. There's not even a bloody control panel in here so we could use-"

"You're brilliant," he said, beamed at her and suddenly, besides the lack of space in there, managed to pull her into his arms and place a kiss on her forehead.

"Hey!"

But he ignored her protest, got his Sonic out of his pocket, not without nudging her accidentally, and slid down to the floor.

"So, I get you have a plan now?"

"Yes! Sorry though, no control panel. Just a lot of wires and processors."

"Well, whatever you're doing, just hurry, would you?"

She could hear Lazarus outside, and he didn't sound – and feel, as for that – particularly happy about them being in here. He was raging, and she wasn't too sure he wouldn't destroy his masterpiece.

"I try!" He said and looked up. "Oh, you got a bruise there," he added and pointed at her knee.

"Yeah, guess what, they didn't bother to carpet their corridors. Don't touch it!" she yelled as his hand was still hovering a few inches away from her knee. "I warn you, I'm ticklish!"

"At your knee?"

"Yes!" she said between gritted teeth. Could he not hurry a bit? "So if you don't want do get kicked you should really leave my knee alone and get back to whatever you were about to do. He's more than _slightly_ annoyed now."

The next second both his hands were back in the floor panel he had just opened. Suddenly it sounded as if the machine was powering up.

"I really hope that's because of something you just did?" she asked quietly.

"Nope, sounds like he's switched the machine on."

"Oh shit."

"Well, I was hoping it was going to take him a little bit longer to work that out."

"What are you doing anyway?"

"I'm trying to set the capsule to reflect energy rather than receive it," he replied.

"Hm," she said, "Sounds good if you get it done before we start mutating like he does. I'm mutated enough already for my taste."

"Just one more!"

Then there was an incredible noise and the whole chamber shook violently for a moment. Then – silence. On every level, not even Lazarus's anger and emotions were there any more. After another moment they both spent listening, the Doctor cautiously opened the door, and she left the chamber after him.

"You did it," was all she could say after looking around, unable to find a trace of the mutant.

She had to admit, she had been afraid in there. Ending like Lazarus was the last thing she wanted. There was dying, in a more or less horribly way, and she had seen a lot of horrible ways, and then there was turning into something she couldn't control, just like Lazarus, and she would gladly chose the first option, any time.

"Really shouldn't take that long just to reverse the polarity," the Doctor said, slightly indignantly. "I must be a bit out of practice."

Then she finally saw Lazarus. He had returned to his human form again, lying on the floor, looking young as he had stepped out of the chamber. Naked. Dead. At least dead as far as she could tell. It was sad, and suddenly she felt incredibly sorry for him. He had wanted nothing more than she herself had wanted. Only for him it had went incredibly wrong. He had not been aware of the price to pay - but had she been back then? No. Not even after her first two-, three-hundred years. Now he was dead, dead as any other human would be at some point. So, even if he had lost his humanity somewhere on the way, here it was again. No matter who one had been in life, in dead somehow they were all equal. Equally pitiful.

"Eliot saw that, too," the Doctor said quietly and with a voice as if he knew exactly how she was feeling. "This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper."

"Sounds like I should read Eliot," she replied as quiet as he had spoken.

"Never read him?"

"No."

* * *

 _Martha's POV_

She had waited outside, though not totally voluntarily. She had given Mira the Screwdriver as they had evacuated the building, so she had no excuse to go back in; and her mother hadn't let her anyway. So all she could do was staying here and guessing what was going on in there. She had heard the bang from the explosion and a bit later had seen the flash of blue lightening behind the windows, all the while praying that nothing had happened to the Doctor.

Then, finally, him and Mira came out of the building, sending in the men from the waiting ambulance.

The Doctor walked over to them, spotted her mother and said, almost cheerfully, "Ah, Mrs Jones. We still haven't finished our chat."

But before he could go any further, her mother darted towards him, lifted her hand and slapped him hard across the face. Mira had leaped forward to stop her, but she had been a few steps too far away.

"Keep away from my daughter!" her mother shouted at him.

"Mum, what are you doing?" she said, trying to get between them, just in case her mother would make another attempt to hit him. God knows, she probably would.

The Doctor just hold his cheek, she had really hit him hard, saying, "All of the mothers, every time."

"He is dangerous. I've been told things," her mother turned to her now.

"Things?" Mira got involved now as well. "With all due respect, _Misses Jones_ , but when you obviously have no idea what's going on, it's best to just sh-"

"What are you talking about?" she asked her mother and interrupted Mira, who seemingly was in the mood for confrontation.

"Look around you!", her mother replied, "Nothing but death and destruction. Do you want to end up like her? All beaten up and obviously no manners?" she pointed at Mira, who, she had to admit, had seen better times, with her knee bruised, her hair messed up, and yes, definitely had had better ways of expressing herself. But then again, Mira was right. Her mother had no idea what was going on.

"This isn't his fault," she said to her. "He... They saved us, all of us!"

Out of the corner of her eye she saw how the ambulance was leaving. So obviously Lazarus was dead, because the stretcher they had carried him out on, just minutes earlier, had been completely covered by a blanket.

"And it was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place," Leo added. "I'd say technically, it's her fault."

But before Tish could protest, they all heard a big crash, right from where the ambulance had been heading to. The Doctor and Mira looked at each other, and, much to her mother's discontent, she said, "Fuck. I thought he was dead." Then they ran off, right to where the bang had come from.

She was about to go with them, as her mother said, "Leave him."

But she couldn't. How could anyone leave him? She ran off, and a moment later she could hear her sister running behind her.

When she reached the side of the accident, she saw that it was indeed the ambulance. The back of the car was open, and inside only desiccated corpses.

"Lazarus, back from the dead," the Doctor said. "Should have known, really."

"How would you? He seemed pretty dead to me...," Mira said.

But the Doctor didn't reply, just took his Screwdriver and started to scan the area.

"Where's he gone?" she asked.

"That way. The church," the Doctor replied.

"Cathedral," Tish explained. "It's Southwark Cathedral. He told me."

Minutes later they were inside.

"Do you think he's in here?" she asked and watched how the Doctor was still scanning.

"Where would you go if you were looking for sanctuary?" he simply asked in return.

"Certainly not to a cathedral," Mira whispered under her breath, then said a bit louder, "But he's here."

They continued and once they walked up the nave to the alter, they could all see him. He was wrapped in the red blanket they had covered him with, shivering all over. But at least he was in his human form.

"I came here before, a lifetime ago," Lazarus said quietly as he had spotted them. "I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat here, just a child, the sound of planes and bombs outside."

"The Blitz," the Doctor replied.

Of course, Martha thought. Lazarus was old enough to have witnessed it.

"You've read about it," Lazarus assumed.

"I was there."

"You're too young."

"So are you."

Lazarus didn't reply, only laughed. Then his body stretched unnaturally, making painful cracking sounds.

"In the morning, the fires had died, and I was still alive," Lazarus said as it was over. "I swore I'd never face death like that again. So defenceless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."

"Oh," Mira said, "So you thought it's a good idea to throw your device right into humanity's face? Not even considering the possibility that there are people out there who want it, and also want to prevent others from having it? They would kill each other for it, even wage wars for it! Or is it just about _you_? No more dying for _you_? Don't care what happens with the rest? Just like the people you ate today?"

"They were nothing. _I_ changed the course of history," Lazarus said, his voice filled with arrogance.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm trying to tell you," Mira replied. "You would have changed the course of history. In a rather bad way. I've seen what people are willing to do to each other, to their friends and comrades, when the gift of immortality is within their reach."

"How can you know?" Lazarus asked Mira disdainfully. "You know nothing. How old are you? Twenty-five?"

"Old enough to have seen every major city on Earth in dust and ashes, as well as watched them being rebuilt again," she replied calmly whilst walking around Lazarus, so he had to turn his head to follow her with his eyes. "So much for seeing war. Old enough to know that avoiding death is not the ultimate solution. It always comes with a price. A high price. Not even I have figured out yet if it is too high. Apart from the fact that taking death away means taking away everything that makes one human."

"No. _Avoiding_ death, that's being human," Lazarus replied. "It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fibre of being. I'm only doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more successful. I doubt any price is too high for that."

"Yes. Our greatest motivation. And you were about to take it away. But I'm afraid you don't understand it," Mira said sadly. "You just don't. How could you? Guess you're just too young."

Lazarus remained silent, looking at Mira and the Doctor. Martha just feared he would turn into a monster any second.

"And you didn't even succeed," the Doctor finally broke the silence. "You're mutating! You've no control over it."

"I call it progress. I'm more now that I was. More than just an ordinary human."

"There's no such thing as an ordinary human."

But Lazarus couldn't answer right now, as his body started to bend again.

"He's going to change again any minute," she whispered to the Doctor.

"I know," he replied just as quietly. "If I can get him up into the bell tower somehow, I've an idea that might work."

"Up there?" she asked, and the Doctor nodded.

"You're so sentimental, both of you. Maybe you are older than you look," Lazarus was finally able to say.

"Old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one," the Doctor said quietly, walking around him like Mira had. "In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle, tired of losing everyone that matters to you, tired of watching everything turn to dust." He paused, walked over to Lazarus, crouched next to him and looked him in the eyes, before he continued quietly, "If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you'll end up alone."

"That's a price worth paying," Lazarus said stubbornly.

"Is it?" the Doctor said.

Her eyes fell on Mira; she was shaking her head silently. What was that all about? Either she was a dammed good actress, or... And what about the Doctor? How old was he? Sure, he was an alien, but she had always assumed that... Well, he would just age the same speed as any human would?

"I will feed soon," Lazarus said.

"I'm not going to let that happen," the Doctor said.

"You've not been able to stop me so far."

"Leave him, Lazarus!" she said, her voice loud enough to get his attention. They had to stop him, no matter the cost. "He's old and bitter. I thought you had a taste for fresher meat!"

"Martha, no!" the Doctor tried to stop her, but someone had to do it. And he certainly wouldn't follow some melancholic people like him and Mira.

And it worked. Lazarus lunged for her, and she started to run. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Tish was following her.

"What are you doing?"

"Keeping you out of trouble!" her sister replied.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He watched quite horrified how Martha, followed by Tish, ran up the stairs, Lazarus jumping up and going after her. Seconds later he heard how he finally changed into his mutated form. He ran a few steps back, looking up the tower, trying to find them.

"Where are they?" he asked himself, and then yelled, "Martha?!"

"Doctor!" he heard her and saw her looking down from one of the stone arches.

"Take him to the top. The very top of the bell tower, do you hear me?!"

"Up to the top!"

"Then what?" she yelled, but she had to run off before he could answer her.

"Come on!" he yelled to Mira who was still down with him and ran off to the organ.

"What are you doing?" Mira asked him.

"Hypersonic sound waves. Inspired," he said and stuck the Sonic into the power socket. It would supply more than enough power for what he was planning to do. Then he started to pull out stops.

"I hope it's a good acoustic in here," he said.

"Well, it's a church, it's built for-" Mira started to say, but then bended forward in pain, covering her ears as he started playing.

But it wasn't quite loud enough yet.

"We need to turn this up to eleven!"

The whole cathedral started to reverberate, he could feel that the very stone was vibrating with the sound. Finally, after what seemed ages even though it had only been minutes, he heard a nasty crash of something soft hitting the hard floor. He stopped playing – something had fallen down all the way from the tower, and he just begged it had been Lazarus.

"Martha?" he yelled, and for an awfully long second there was nothing but silence.

But then, just as Mira removed her hands from her ears, he heard Martha's voice, shrill with panic, "I'm okay! We're both okay!"

He took a deep breath, unplugged the Sonic and then asked Mira, who still looked quite shocked from the noise, "You're fine?"

"Think so," she replied slowly. "Just hope the ringing in my ears is not permanent."

"What? Oh, sorry, I'm sure I can fix-"

"Don't worry. My cells are quite good at regenerating, remember?" she said and smiled at him,

Then she walked down again, and he followed her. Lazarus was lying there, on the floor, naked as before. This time he must be dead for sure, no chance he could survive that. They crouched next to him, and then, almost within the blink of an eye, he changed back to his old, former self. He reached out to close Lazarus's eyes.

"Think he's really dead now," Mira said, then continued with a sigh, "I know he really went too far, and he's a murderer. But... He certainly was a great scientist. It's a pity it had to end like this. He should have focused on other things instead. He could have done much good, with all his motivation and with what he went through."

He watched her for a moment, then said, "Yeah, you're right I guess."

Then he heard Martha and Tish coming down, and ran over to him, giving Martha a big hug. He hadn't thought that of her, he had to admit. And even if he would have her rather stay down here, she had saved them by leading Lazarus up to the tower. She certainly would be a great companion, and apart from that, she and Mira seemed to get along quite well with each other.

"I didn't know you could play?" she said after he had released her.

"Oh, well, you know, if you hang around with Beethoven, you're bound to pick a few things up," he replied with a smile.

"Hmm. Especially about playing loud," she said.

"Sorry?" he beamed at her.

Of course he could hear as well as before. That little bit of noise had been nothing for him.

 **…**

He had brought the TARDIS back from where he had parked her next to the laboratory to Martha's flat. Mira was staying inside, after saying goodbye to Martha. Well, that was it then, wasn't it? No way he could take her with him, even though he really liked to. She was a bright, courageous young woman, and, in opposite to Rose, much more sensible.

"Something else that just kind of escalated, then," he said and smiled at her.

"I can see a pattern developing. You should take more care in the future. And the past. And whatever other time period you find yourself in," she replied teasingly.

"It's good fun, though, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

Oh, he should just say goodbye, and leave. And never return. It would be better for her health and safety. And Mira would certainly agree with that. But- well, she wasn't here to protest now. So...

"So, what do you say, one more trip?" he heard himself say before he could help it.

"No. Sorry," Martha said to his great surprise.

"What do you mean? I thought you liked it," he replied disbelievingly.

"I do, but I can't go on like this. One more trip. It's not fair."

"What're you talking about?" he asked, really quite clueless.

"I don't want to be just a passenger anymore. Someone you take along for a treat. If that's how you still see me, I'd rather stay here."

Well, that was brave. She knew what she wanted, that was for sure.

"Okay, then," he said, his hands in his pockets. "If that's what you want."

He just couldn't leave her here. He had had more than one companion on his travels before – it had be fun, and apart from that, Mira was... Well, he had no idea what she was, what _they_ were, but she definitely was more than any other companion.

"Right. But we've already said goodbye once today. It's probably best if you just go," Martha said in a miffed tone, turning her back to him.

Oh what now? Had he said something wrong? Wasn't that what she wanted? Humans. Sometimes they had a hard time understanding. He stared at her back, waiting for her to explain.

"What is it?" she finally asked and turned around again.

"What? I said okay."

"Sorry?"

"Okay," he repeated and nodded towards the TARDIS.

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" she finally understood and hugged him.

"Well, you were never really just a passenger, were you?" he said and hugged her in return.

Then they went into the TARDIS.

* * *

 _djmegamouth, OneWhoReadsTooMuch, Anubis Enfield, Julia N SnowMiko, NeoMulder: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_

 _Type40TARDIS: Funny, believe it or not, but this idea had actually crossed my mind, I just completely forgot about it after the end of season 2, because I had no idea how to put it into the story. But maybe now I have an idea :-) So thanks for bringing it up, otherwise I certainly wouldn't have remembered and thought about it again :-)_


	77. Chapter 77 - Uncharted Territory

**Chapter LXXVII**

 _Martha's POV_

"Oh, welcome back then," she was greeted by Mira as she followed the Doctor into the TARDIS and closed the door behind her.

It didn't sound particularly unfriendly, but the other woman was definitely surprised that she was back now. She looked over to the Doctor, who was rubbing his eye, before he jumped forwards so suddenly he almost gave her a start and pressed some buttons.

"So, well then, off we go," he said, and she couldn't help herself but thinking that both of them hadn't really talked about her staying.

But then again, it was his ship after all, wasn't it? And he had invited her to stay, and not just as a passenger this time. Then she remembered something.

"Uhm, are we flying again already? Guess I could need some more clothes," she said.

The Doctor stopped in his tracks for a moment, looked at her in a way that made er blush, then said, "Why? What's wrong with that dress?"

"Nothing," she said, "But it's not really warm or anything so..."

"Ah, don't worry, we'll find something here. Guess you're room's still there, so I'd have a look in the wardrobes there."

Okay, fine, she thought, hopefully she would also find some underwear to change. Maybe she could even find some medicine books in the library? Using the time she won by being on this ship to study, even though that almost felt like cheating. Would she age faster now because she spent time here that didn't pass for her friends? And, back to clothing, how was laundry working on this ship? The last time, after they had crawled through the sewers in the 1920s, she had found her clothes washed and fresh on the bed after she had stepped out of the shower. Was it always working like that? And who had done it? Robots? She really liked to ask, but she knew that she had already asked a lot – so probably that had to wait for later. There was something else anyway she wanted to know, something about Lazarus.

"I still don't understand where that thing came from. Lazarus, I mean. Was it alien?" she asked, leaning her back against the handrails.

"No," the Doctor said and looked up from the console, "For once it's strictly human in origin."

"Human? How can it be human?"

"Mira was right. She said it in the laboratory," he replied. "Most likely from dormant genes in Lazarus's DNA. The energy field in this device must have reactivated them. And it looks like they became dominant."

"So it actually _was_ a throwback," she said, being glad that evolution had taken a different turn after all.

"Some option that evolution rejected for you millions of years ago," the Doctor confirmed her thoughts, "But the potential is still there. Locked away in your genes, forgotten about until Lazarus unlocked it by mistake."

"Oh well, glad then we evolve into something like that," she murmured.

There was something else on her mind. She hadn't forgotten the conversation between the Doctor, Mira and Lazarus. Well, Mira, for being human – at least she stated to be human – most like had just acted, telling Lazarus something to convince him to stop, but how old was the Doctor really? Was it impolite to ask him? Just asking, oh, and, by the way, how old can your people get? No, certainly not like that, for he was the last, and she didn't want to throw in his face that there were no 'people' any more, but only him. But how old was he then? She had no idea, maybe hundred or two-hundred years?

But maybe there was another take on finding it out.

"Mira, so, you said you've seen people fighting over immortality. So there are immortal beings where you are from? I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

Mira, who was sitting on the jump-seat, looked up, seemingly surprised.

"Well, yeah. Oh..." she rubbed her face with her hands and sighed. "It's a long story, really. But yes, there are some. And not because of a device like Lazarus had built, but because of something else..." She stopped and looked at her, as if she wanted to figure out if she was really interested.

She nodded at her, and so Mira continued, "There's this entity. _It._ Essentially _It_ is the mental, psychic essence of a whole species, which gave up their physical form ages ago. At some point, quite a while ago, _It_ scattered about twenty-five of some small pendants all over the galaxy, letting everyone know how to find them – they were emitting a distinct pulse - and what they are. Basically they constantly regenerate the cells in whoever wears them, preventing them from ageing. I guess you can imagine what happened then." She looked up at her, and she had the nasty feeling she was just reading every last of her emotions. Then she continued, "We managed to secure quite a few of those things for the Solar Empire, but some fell in the hands of other people. As said, it didn't went too well for their companions, and even they themselves often got murdered out of greed at some point."

She tried to imagine it, and even succeeded to a degree, but she couldn't really get her head around how it would be to live forever. And if she would have searched for one of those things or not. Then her eyes fell on the pendant Mira was wearing. It showed under the high neckline of her dress, and she had asked herself earlier why she hadn't taken it off, when it was showing in such a way, not matching to the dress at all.

"So, you're working for the Solar Empire then?" she asked, not daring to ask for the pendant she was wearing.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that even the Doctor had stopped rushing around the console, and was watching them now. Did he know? Sure, if they had been together.

"I was," she said sadly. "But it's gone now. It fell apart, as it goes over time. But there's something else now, so humanity is still alive and well in my universe." She smiled at her melancholy and a weird, old look in her eyes. "Yes Martha, I'm older than I look. Much older," she answered her unspoken question.

"How much?" she asked before she could stop herself. Oh hell, so much for being polite and diplomatic. "Sorry," she hurried to add. "So you did find one of these pendants for yourself?"

"No," Mira replied, ignoring her first question. "There were three ones different from the others. The others can be worn by anyone. But these three were calibrated to a specific, five dimensional radiation anyone's cells are emitting. It's a bit like a fingerprint. It had happened ages ago, long before I was even born. But those who did it are existing somehow outside the universe and time, so it's no surprise they knew about us long before I was born, any of us three was born. Anyway, one was for my father, one for Atlan, an old friend of humanity, and yeah, well, one is mine."

She looked at Mira as she had finished, her head spinning. It sounded like something straight out of a Sci-fi movie, and normally she would have never believed it. But here, inside the TARDIS, after what she had seen the last days, yes. At least she didn't discard it right away as being utterly delusional. Still, it almost was too fantastic, and it seemed to make Mira a pretty important person if she had been chosen – oh, how that sounded – by some weird people living outside the universe? What was 'outside the universe' supposed to mean?

"Okay," she finally said, "I guess it was really enough for today, at least for me – I think I get changed and... well. Sleep a bit maybe."

"You know where you're room is?" Mira asked.

"Yeah, remembered the way when we walked there last time," she replied and left, almost fled, the console room.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

She was sitting on a chair in her room, a book in her hand. Eliot, all his poems. She had picked it in the library, after she had forced herself to eat something, taken a shower and changed clothes, but she was absolutely lacking focus for reading it. She had tried to, just as she had tried to find some sleep, but her mind was still racing. There was so much to be sorted out, and only little which was within her control. And of those few things she was quite afraid.

Then it knocked at the door, making her almost jump out of the chair. Before she could say anything, the door opened and the Doctor popped in his head, quickly followed by the rest of his body. Of course, who else could it be. At least he had bothered to knock at all, if not waiting for an answer, as Martha would have.

"Am I interrupting you?" he asked, standing in the open door.

"Uh, well, not-"

"Oh, you're reading Eliot?" he asked and came a few steps closer, closing the door behind him.

"I'm trying to, yes."

"Just wanted to check if you're all right," he said, tugging at his earlobe.

He had changed back into his brown suite, she noticed.

"I'm fine, thanks..."

"Well, okay then..."

They looked at each other for a moment. Why was he really here? Just to check on her? Or did he want something else? He wasn't here to talk, was he? That so wouldn't be him. But she, on the other hand, had to talk. She didn't want to, really not, but she knew she had to, at some point.

"So I leave you to your book then," he said, but didn't move.

She nodded at him, and finally he turned around and started walking towards the door.

 _Fine._

She put the book on the small coffee table next to her and said, "Wait."

He turned on his heels as if he had waited for that, but the expression on his face looked just the opposite. Quite uncomfortable, actually.

"We have to talk," she said and stood up.

"Do we?" he asked, all innocent again, as she was still thinking about how to begin.

"Do we?" she repeated his question. "I think so, yes. Maybe you don't, but I definitely do."

She knew, if she wouldn't do it now, then she would never do it. And it was best to end it now, before it could lead to even more chaos and pain.

"Well, I-" he started, but she interrupted him.

Not this time. He wouldn't get away that easy this time. And neither would she.

"It's about us," she said, deciding to head straight to the point. No use in circling around the topic. "I know, when we first met, we kinda- We make this promise," she hurried to add, before either he would interrupt her, or she would louse her courage. "That we would only be friends. Companions. And, don't get me wrong, I've not forgotten it. I still stick to it, in fact, but-"

"Mira-"

"No, listen. Let me finish. I know it was fun, and I can only speak for me now, because, when it comes to you, I'm still completely lost. I have no idea what's going on in your head. And that's the problem. All these.. Games, and I don't know if it's flirting, and the kissing..." Well, she knew, it was her kissing him, at least the second time, "I can't live like this any more. If I would only know what it is for you, then maybe I could, but I just don't know. So, maybe-"

"Mira, please-"

"No, really, listen! If I don't say this now, I probably never will, so please, all I ask for is: Could you just say it again? What you said back then? Friends, companions, nothing more? I just need to hear it once more, then I promise, I-"

Suddenly she stopped. It was the look in his eyes, the expression on his face, telling her it was all heading into the completely wrong direction.

"What?" she asked quietly and quite breathless. Her heart was beating so loud that probably even another human could hear it, not to speak of him and is dammed good hearing. She had her arms crossed to hide the shaking of her hands; not very successfully though.

"What I wanted to say, Mira," he started again, his hands in his pockets, his dark eyes locked with hers, "Do we need to _talk_?"

It took er a moment to understand his question. First she had thought he had meant it quite literally, meaning everything was still as it had been, there was nothing more from his side, and there was really no need to talk about it for him. But, as she studied the look on his face, it dawned on her that maybe this wasn't the case. There was a strange kind of sadness in his eyes, but somehow she felt it was not only related to what she had just said. And then, how he had emphasised the word _talk –_ No. No way. But yet – he still looked at her, as if he was waiting for an answer, for her to say, to do _something_ , and once more she had the feeling to see a glimpse of the real him. A glimpse of what he was normally hiding when dealing with humans.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

He had really only wanted to check on her, because, after all that had happened with Lazarus, he was worried. And then Martha outright questioning her, even though she certainly had only been curious. He hadn't expected that she would come clear like that, but then again, it was so her. Just thinking about things and then putting it on the table, from one moment to the next. Even more so in the restless, driven state she was in.

And yes, he was done with these games as well. Not that he didn't like it; he had just never thought that something like this would happen to him ever again. The last person who had challenged him like Mira had been Romana. And even though they never had been together in a way humans meant when saying that, there had been a deep friendship between them, and yes, he had even loved her in his very own way.

And now he was standing here and observing Mira's reaction to what he had just said. He didn't even know if she had understood him, and even less could he explain why he had asked it. Well, it had popped up in his mind several times by now, but normally he would never asked such a thing. Not a human anyway. But as said, he was a bit tired as well. Not in a bad way, all those little games between them weren't getting old or boring, but just as her, he could no longer live like this. It had been hard enough to sort out his own feelings, but without knowing where he stood with her, he had reached a dead end. And, to make things worse, somehow it was all Mira's doing. It had started when she had confronted him time and time again with Rose and how he was dealing – or, better, not dealing – with her and her expectations. He would have never started to really, actually think about things like that, his relationship to the people around him. Of course, he had been aware of it, more or less, but he had put it aside, waited for the others to act, and when there had been someone like Rose, he had just ignored it, tried to keep them at arm's length.

And now he had actually asked – even though not really in the most direct way - if they could do again what they were doing when Mickey had so rudely interrupted them, back in the console room, when she had hugged him after he had found out that Reinette had died whilst waiting for him. He just wanted to _see_ her, as he was used to see someone with his own people. And in return he wanted her to see him. He was fairly certain she would be able to; she had almost gotten in his mind once, after he had removed the barrier around her psychic senses in Pete's world. He had very well noticed it, and her way of being able to mimic other psychic abilities was even more incredible and fascinating to him than her emphatic talent.

But now he wasn't even certain she had understood him. And he certainly wouldn't get more specific. And even if she knew what he wanted, she most likely wouldn't agree. Why would she? And then he could just leave, and all would be back to where they had been, just as she had asked. Not that he wanted that, but probably it was for the best.

She remained silent, just looking at him. Something about the look on her face told him she most likely had gotten him, and yet she didn't agree - at least it didn't seem as if she was about to say something. His hearts suddenly sank, a wave of – rather unexpected – disappointment rushing over him. He had really hoped for some reply, any reply, at the same time wondering when he had gotten involved like _that_ , but fine. Fair enough. At least in this way neither of them would lose their face.

Just as he was about to turn around and head for the door, he noticed something. A change in the room, an change in the atmosphere between them, a change so subtle, he had almost missed it. Something was suddenly missing, and replaced by a certain kind of tension between them. Then it stroke him. Her psychic barriers had been up all the time, pretty much every day - even though they both knew quite well that they most likely wouldn't stop him. Most likely it was just her way of telling him to keep his distance, mentally spoken. Now they were gone. He was absolutely certain she had had them up a moment ago.

Now he was completely surprised as well as a bit lost. Quite lost actually. He had somehow hoped for this reaction, but he hadn't expected it, not for the life of him. Even more so after what she had just said. And she was so incredibly nervous, had been so all the time since she had said they had to talk. He could hear her heart beating fast, and she was shaking with nerves. But she held his gaze, and there was, despite her nervousness, a sudden determination in her eyes.

He started to walk slowly towards her, expecting that she would back away any moment, but she didn't. She was still looking right in his eyes, and now, even though he hadn't touched her yet, he could feel she had understood him and wanted it as well, despite her being so nervous that he would have loved nothing better than to just hug her.

Then, as he stood more than one foot away from her, he slowly lifted his hands, his eyes still locked with hers. They hadn't spoken a single word all the while, and he still feared she would just stop him at the last moment. But she didn't. She had even given up her slightly defensive posture with her arms crossed, and was instead nestling with the long sleeves of her dress.

He gently placed his fingertips on her temple, after brushing aside a strand of her long, silky hair.

Then he closed his eyes. The first thing he could feel was how she holding her breath – mentally speaking – as if to brace herself. He suddenly remembered how she had told him on Skaro he shouldn't 'yell' like that. Or was it her remembering it and him just reading it? Didn't matter now. He remembered very well to keep it down and not to overwhelm her with his presence. No, there was no need to rush anything. The connection between them would deepen on its own, slowly as their minds would connect with each other.

He could feel how she started to relax with him not rushing all over her but lightly and gently touching her mind with his.

It was not that he could see everything about her mind, her personality at once, as the connection deepened. It was slowly unfolding, layer by layer, separating into what she was feeling right now at this very moment, and the more constant parts of her, the parts which made up her personality, her character, what had formed her over the centuries of her lifetime. And it was truly amazing. He had had a glimpse of the strength that was lying within her, but it had been only that, a glimpse. Now he really had the time to take it in. There was still the feeling of blue to it, like a deep, blue ocean, like a stream of water, powerful, able to overcome any obstacle, to erode the strongest rock over time, but at the same time it had the destructive and crushing force of a wild river, a strong current, ready to carry one with it, pulling one beneath the surface with no way of escaping.

He could feel how torn she was, how many contradictions were laying within her. He could feel her loneliness, a loneliness born out of being different than the others, even back then when she had still been mortal. And then, as he got deeper into her mind, he could see, underneath all these contradictions and darkness, a great wisdom, born out of the countless years she had lived and also of a deep knowledge of herself, with all her faults and strengths. There was something else – an all-embracing feeling of peace and serenity. It took him a moment to figure it out, but then he saw it was originating from her way to see the universe. Originating from a deep knowledge of something larger than herself, being and feeling as one with it. A strong trust in destiny and in finding her way, no matter what. He would never have expected her perception of the universe – and of time – being that strong.

She had the gift to somehow find the right path, to figure out what was right and wrong, what was fixed and how it should be, to see how everything was connected, and how to follow it. It was not nearly as clear to her as it was to him - time, that is, and all its different paths and streams - but more on an instinctive, very basic, and subconscious level. Nevertheless, it left him breathless for a moment, as well as sad, because now he understood what she had meant when she had said that this universe was different, shifted from her own. And how she was suffering, being trapped in a strange place that felt weirdly off and wrong. She was trying to keep it down, lock it away, but there it was, overshadowing everything, threatening to extinguish all this bright, peaceful feeling, turning all her strength and determination into something dark and destructive.

* * *

 _Mira's POV_

Oh what had she gotten herself into now. She couldn't believe she was actually doing this. But a part of her really wanted this. She had had enough time to back off, as he was slowly walking towards her, and even though she was really worried that it would just knock her out this time – _he_ would just knock her out, for she had had a glimpse of how powerful he was, more than once – she didn't back off. She had braced herself, but then – no, it hadn't knocked her out. Quite the opposite. Slowly his presence had surrounded her, filled her, light as a feather, as soft summer rain on her skin. And even though she could now really feel his psychic strength, there had been no forcefulness to it, it was merely as if he was watching her, observing her, slowly, carefully, until their minds had connected, more or less on their own.

And now his presence was filling her, and even though it was still a one-sided contact, her brain, her weird psychic ability had found a way to mirror what he was doing, leading her towards his mind. It was just like back then, when she had felt as if standing at a threshold, ready to jump, to find a way into his mind. Only back then she hadn't been aware of it until it almost had been too late. But this time she knew what she was doing. It was as if walking towards an incredibly bright light, as if standing on the edge of an abyss, filled with swirling colours, shapes floating into one another, almost like galaxies rotating so fast that all the single stars were getting blurred, flowing together to one single, endless stream. She was drawn towards it, and yet she hesitated. Did he really want her there? Surely, she wouldn't be able to find anything she wasn't supposed to, but-

 _Come_

The word just echoed through her mind. It was actually more than a word, it was an invitation, but something was still holding her back.

 _Sure?_

She formed this question in her mind, where it floated until it got blown away and replaced with his answer.

 _Yes_

Okay, fine. She got even closer to the edge, until there was only one step – figuratively speaking, for there were no steps, no distances, nothing of the outer world in ones mind – away from jumping down into this abyss, from entering his mind. She wouldn't even have to _jump_ , just to lean forward, lean into it, but.. She suddenly was afraid. His mind, his consciousness was so huge, so incredibly alien. All the colours and shapes she could see - she knew she wasn't really seeing them. They were too strange, something she had never seen before, so it was only her brain's way of translating it into something she knew. She feared she would get completely lost. She would lose herself there, never finding herself again, just getting merged with it, with him, and vanish.

 _Don't be afraid. I'm with you. Trust me._

And she did. She wouldn't if she had just heard him say it. But it was so much more than just words this time. She was still afraid - who wouldn't be in her stead - but after a last moment of gathering herself, she finally did it. She leaned into it, leaped forward, jumped.

And then, there was nothing. She had no idea for how long, apart from the fact that time didn't really exist in this context. And it was not really _nothing_. But she could feel how she got carried away, spread, dissolved in billion little pieces. Then, seemingly incredibly slow she came back together again, getting her bearings, feeling his presence, which was all around her, and at the same time it was somehow focused to a small, bright spot within all the whirling lights. She drifted towards it, incredibly glad that he really was with her, didn't leave her alone floating about. It was nothing she had ever experienced before. It was overwhelming. There were streams, paths – at least it seemed to her like that – countless, endlessly. At first she had no idea what it was; it didn't seem to be a part of him, but something within his perception. It was absolutely chaotic to her, ever changing.

Then, with a little hint from his side – she would have never figured it out on her own – she realised it was time. That was they way how he could see it. He tried to shut it out most of the times, but still, it was always there. It was so completely different from her own perception, which was more like getting a lucky glimpse every now and then of what was about to come. Sure, she had always been sensitive to it, and even more so changes in it, like time travel, but what she could see in his mind was a whole new dimension.

Then, as she got herself sorted out again, trying to ignore the chaos of time around her, she could made out emotions and thoughts. The first thing she felt – maybe because it was something she knew all to well – was a feeling of great and utter loneliness. A loneliness originating from the feeling of being different – different from the rest of his kind, never feeling quite as if he belonged to them. Just as she herself, he was different. An outsider. A free spirit, pretty much like her, never willing to obey rules, especially not if he didn't see any purpose and reason behind them. His people had never quite understood him, and even though he had made his way, he had always been lonely. Just as she had amongst other humans, knowing they would never fully understand how she was seeing them as being psychic.

Of course, it was not only loneliness that defined him. There were so many emotions, strong emotions, hardly controlled. The oncoming storm, bright as the sun, burning everything that dared come to close. The potential for truly devastating rage and at the same time a kindness she had hardly ever felt in anyone before, that moved her to a point where it was almost painful. Had she wondered not too long ago why he had reached out to the one remaining Dalek, now she knew why.

There was something pure, elemental and deeply honest to all these emotions, and suddenly it all made sense. What the Face of Boe had said to her, about never knowing where to stand with him, and yet trusting him.

 _The Face of Boe said that?_

It was then when she remembered that he knew everything she was thinking right now. But she didn't want to bring that up, not now. For once she didn't want to think about the past or the future. And so they both let those thoughts pass, just as they did with a few others, unimportant ones, crossing their minds, for thinking absolutely nothing was really quite impossible.

Then she noticed something else. It was a somehow familiar presence, but stronger and much clearer than it was in her own mind. Quite different, almost intimate. It took er a few moments to figure it out, but then she new it. It was the TARDIS and his connection to her. Their connection was really symbiotic, and right now the old time ship was humming in almost cheerful content.

As she listened to the TARDIS in his mind, slowly but surely another emotion around her grew stronger, almost forcing itself onto her. She had noticed it before, but she had tried to ignore it, to dismiss it, mostly out of fear – as it was just expressing what she had tried to avoid all the time, tried to end before it could grow into something out of their both control.

But now realisation struck her like a lightening. She had lost herself, just not in the way she had dreaded. Instead of losing herself in his mind, she had lost herself to him. Utterly and completely. She had wanted to set it all back to beginning. But instead she – they – had just crossed a line without any hope of going back.

She wasn't even sure how to put it into words, or if she would ever be able to do so. It was a feeling of warmth, affection, longing and care mixed with disbelieve about his own feelings, about what was just happening; questioning _if_ it was actually happening, and she was sure he could feel something very similar in her own mind.

And she knew that he had felt how she had just almost startled. Slowly but surely she grew more and more aware of her surroundings again. She realised that he was no longer touching her temples, instead she was leaning against him, her hands and her head turned sideways on his chest so she could hear the beating of his hearts, his arms wrapped around her. Their minds were still in contact, just not as close as a moment ago.

She opened her eyes, almost blinded by the dim light in her room, and moved slightly in his arms so she could look up to see his face. He looked down at her, tears glistening in his eyes. She could see the same unspoken question, the same insecurity there which was in her own head. Despite their long lives, it somehow felt like completely new, uncharted territory. Probably even more for him than for her. But now, even though she had seen just _how_ different he was, she didn't feel inferior or intimated. Well, at least not more than she had before, in those moments when he had casually said something about Time Lord technology that had just blown her mind.

Instead, being in his mind had felt strangely safe – safe, secure and comfortable, not nearly as frightening as she had assumed it would be when she had hesitated to go that one last step. In fact, she had never been connected with someone like that before. Sure, she could feel others almost as intensive if she completely focused on them, and she had exchanged thoughts with telepaths, but it had never been so mutual and both-sided on every level before. And, apart from all their differences, they had things in common. They were both just as free spirited, even though she had carefully covered it with layers and layers of reason and rationality over the years. Still, she had no idea where to go from here, and she felt as helpless as she had hardly ever felt.

And it was not until he lifted his hand and let his fingers gently stroke down her cheek that she realised a tear was running down her own face. He softly kissed her forehead before he pulled her to him again, wrapping his arms around her once more. She felt a wave of caressing and comforting feelings coming over her, and it was just then when she realised how mentally and physically exhausted she was.

* * *

 _Doctor's POV_

They were lying on her bed, she in his arms – pretty much just like they had back in Elizabethan England. Just, of course, this time Martha was not lying next to him, and certainly no one would get killed, here, inside the TARDIS, making them jump up. He had watched her slowly drifting off into sleep, knowing how exhausted she had been, and not only because of what they had just done. Oh, he would have never expected that something like this would be possible. Certainly not with a human. And now he felt just as lost as she did. He had never, ever, not once, thought about getting so close to someone else again, even more so with his own people gone. He had not a clue about what to do next. Seeing her feelings for him, her reactions to what she had seen inside his mind, had left him dumbfounded, as he had never believed someone could feel like this for him. Understand him in a way like she did. And yet he had no idea what she was expecting now. They couldn't go back to how it had been before, that was all he knew.

And, above all, he couldn't even really enjoy all this or feel happy about it. Instead, he felt like a traitor, once more, for keeping something essential from her. She certainly would turn away in an instant, seeing him for the horrible person he really was, the murderer of his people, even though it had been the only thing to do back then, to save everyone else, the whole of creation.

 _Really? There was_ no _other way?_

He had tried to tell himself that, many, many times, and this one question had haunted him ever since. But even if so, it didn't make it any less horrible. And if he himself could not see it like that, then how could he expect it from anyone else? Even after all the kindness she had somehow seen in him – which had really surprised him, for he had never really seen himself like that – she would just despise him.

He knew that she would never find out if he didn't want her to. But that would mean to constantly betray her; to pretend to be someone he wasn't.

* * *

 _Yeah, finally, the next step ;-) Bit earlier this time because I have a few days off, I hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter. :-)_

 _OneWhoReadsToMuch, djmegamouth, bored411, NeoMulder: Thanks for reviewing :-)_

 _Type40TARDIS: Yeah, the Doctor and his age, he seems to get quite confused about it. And yes, the Doctor lies. ;-) Seemed always a bit weird to me that he was over 700 years in his fourth regeneration (Don't know where I read that, but I think somewhere on tardisWikia), but then only 900-something in his tenth, with everything that happened in between._


	78. Chapter 78 - 42 Pt 1

**Chapter LXXVIII**

 _Mira_

 _She stood on the surface of a planet. She had no idea how she had gotten here, or what planet it was, but she knew that the Doctor was with her. And there was someone else – a face she had never seen before, even though she could not really see it. It was blurred, there and not there – but she knew that, whoever it was, she had met him before. She knew him._

 _But instead of thinking more about it, her attention got caught by an overwhelming feeling of dead and decay which was filling her mind, her very soul, and everything around her. It was the end – THE END – of everything and everyone, ultimate and cruel. Next thing she noticed was that they were running over the surface of this weird, unknown planet. Then, finally, she looked up. What she saw made her stop in her tracks; suddenly she felt dizzy, falling, but she knew she wasn't; even though – as so often in dreams – she couldn't see her own feet. It was a dream, wasn't it? She lifted her hand, looked at her fingers. She counted. Six. Seven? No, six. It didn't matter, it had to be a dream, she was certain of it now._

 _Reluctantly, she looked up again. The sky was black. Blacker than every night's sky she had ever seen. Blacker even than the skies she had seen on lonely planets, orbiting even lonelier stars lost between the galaxies. It was not just black - it was dead. She suddenly knew. She had no idea how, and it left her with a feeling of utter horror. There would never be any star in any sky again. They would all be black; dead. From now on it would only get darker and darker - and colder. It was the end. The end of everything. And, even worse, it brought to her mind how insignificant everything was. Everything that had been, everything that had been done. No matter what – it would always end in this way. Nothing and no-one would make any difference to it._

She woke up taking a deep, horrified breath and tried to sit up – only to find herself wrapped in the Doctor's arms. She tried to free herself for a moment, but then gave up and sank back into his embrace, her head resting at his shoulder where the scent of his soft, cool skin filled her nose. It was so alien, but in a good way - and so familiar by now.

"What is it?" she heard his soft voice. "You're alright?"

She took a deep breath again, resisted the urge to kiss his neck and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a dream..."

She could feel that he was no longer in her head, so he couldn't possibly know what this dream had been about. At least so she hoped. And he also couldn't know that it had been one of _these_ dreams. And as she was still thinking about it; still trying to sort out its meaning, realisation about what they had done struck her. It all felt a bit like a dream as well, but of course it wasn't. Even though they weren't connected any more like she had been, she could still feel a hint of his presence lingering in her mind – pretty much as one could smell someone else's scent on their own skin after a night spent together. And even though she still couldn't feel his emotions, something definitely was different between them now.

"A dream? About what?" he asked.

"It's- I don't know..."

She should probably tell him. She really should. But then again, if she could get a glimpse of the future, it was fixed anyway. Nothing could be done about it. Done about what in this case? It was sort of an open secret that the universe would 'die' at some point, she thought sarcastically. Sure, there had been more to her dream than that; how they would end up there, for example. But anyway - she really needed a bit of time on her own to think about everything, to sort out her feelings and what had happened. And to shake off that feeling of decay and insignificance the dream had left behind in her head.

"Later," she finished. She would get up now. Well, soon. Just one more moment of lying here with him and listening to the calming beat of his two hearts; just one more moment of not thinking about the universe and all her problems, the future, dreams, or anything else for that matter.

* * *

 _Martha_

Martha had went to the console room, after she had looked for something to eat in the kitchen. And she had changed her clothes – indeed, the wardrobe in her room was filled with clothes, pretty much with the same ones as she had at home. Not much later the Doctor and Mira had popped up, and now he was scanning her phone with his Screwdriver. Well, not exactly scanning, he had explained what he was about to do, but frankly, she hadn't understood a single word. She had only mentioned after looking at her phone, that, of course, it had no signal here. How could it?

"Right, there we go. Universal roaming. Never have to worry about a signal again," he said with a smile and handed the phone back to her.

"No way," she said and looked at the display. "This is too mad. You're telling me I can phone anyone, anywhere in space and time on my mobile?"

"As long as you know the area code," replied. "Frequent flier's privilege. Go on, try it."

But before she could do so, the TARDIS juddered and rocked violently, making her reach out for something to hold on to.

The Doctor was holding on to the console and said, "Distress signal. Locking on. Might be a bit of-"

But before he could finish they all got knocked to the floor. Then it was quiet again.

"Turbulence," he said and pulled himself up on the console, then held out a hand to Mira who grabbed it, helping her up. They looked at each other for a moment in a somewhat weird way – the second time this morning (wait, was it morning?), she noticed. Had something happened between them while she had been sleeping?

"Sorry," he continued. "Come on. Let's take a look."

He went first, opening the door, herself and Mira following him. As soon as she left the TARDIS, she was greeted by a surge of hot air.

"Distress signal transmitted," a voice announced, almost sounding artificial, like a computer.

"Whoa, now that is hot," the Doctor complained.

"Yeah, it's like a sauna in here," she agreed with him.

"Quite nice actually," Mira objected, "I'm done with freezing."

"Freezing?" the Doctor asked astonished.

"Yeah, freezing. It's slightly on the cold side in the TARDIS. But I'm afraid the heat's not normal in here. Seems like a spaceship or a space station."

"Yeah, spaceship I might say. Venting systems," the Doctor said and looked at some sort of control module at the wall. "Working at full pelt, trying to cool down."

"But that's it," Mira replied, holding her head as if listening. "Venting system but nothing else. Listen," she paused for a moment and then added, "Either they have very advanced and quiet generators, or-"

"Well, wherever it is we are," the Doctor interrupted her, visibly uncomfortable, "If you can't stand the heat-"

He threw open a massive bulkhead door, and before she could really take in her surroundings, three people, a woman and two men, were running towards them, yelling and waving.

"Oi, you there!" a young, rather handsome man yelled at them.

"Get out of there!" a woman in a tank-top added.

"Seal that door, now!" the other man, a bit older than the first one, yelled.

"Who are you? What are you doing on my ship?" the woman asked, but they didn't really have time to answer.

"Are you police?" the young guy asked.

"Why would we be police?" the Doctor finally managed to throw in.

"We got your distress signal," she added.

"If this is a ship, why can't I hear any engines?" the Doctor asked.

Now she recognised it as well. Just as Mira had said it. It was, apart from the venting systems, awfully quiet. She had thought it was quiet inside the TARDIS, but even in the time-ship it was louder, sounded more like 'spaceship', more alive.

"It went dead four minutes ago," the woman said.

"So maybe we should stop chatting and get to Engineering. _Captain_ ," the older of the two men said.

"Secure closure active," the synthetic voice announced.

"What?" the woman said.

"The ship's gone mad."

Then another woman, younger than the first one, came running towards them, bulkheads slamming shut behind her, one after the other.

"Who activated secure closure?" the young woman asked, being out of breath. "I nearly got locked in to area twenty seven."

"Who are you?"

"He's the Doctor," she said before the Doctor could reply, "That's Mira and I'm Martha. Hello."

"Impact projection forty two minutes twenty seven seconds," the computer said.

"We'll get out of this. I promise," the first woman said, trying to sound reassuring.

She looked after Mira who had went to look out of a porthole. She followed her.

"Forty two minutes until what?" the Doctor asked.

"Death by burning," Mira said quietly and somehow finally. "I don't assume the ship is equipped for getting _this_ close to a sun."

And then she was standing next to Mira and saw it for herself.

"Doctor! Look," she said, unable to avert her eyes.

"Forty two minutes until we crash into the sun," the woman explained.

The next moment he was between her and Mira, seeing for himself what was going on. Not a second later he had turned around again.

"How many crew members on board?" he asked.

"Seven, including us," the woman answered.

"We transport cargo across the galaxy," the older of the two men explained. "Everything's automated. We just keep the ship spaceworthy."

"Call the others, I'll get you out," the Doctor said and went back to the door which was leading to the room with the TARDIS.

She saw the crew of the ship watch in horror and then they started to yell at him again, trying to make him stop.

But, of course, it wouldn't have been the Doctor if he had listened to them. Instead he pulled the door open, and was instantly thrown back by a blast of heat. He landed on the floor on his backside, and a moment later the younger woman had put on a welder's mask and shut the door again.

"But my ship's in there!" the Doctor yelled as he Mira helped him up.

"In the vent chamber?" the young man asked.

"It's our lifeboat," the Doctor explained, his browns furrowed with sorrow.

"It's lava!" the older man said.

"The temperature's going mad in there," the younger woman explained whilst looking at a gauge on the door. "Up three thousand degrees in ten seconds, and still rising."

"She's a space ship, so she should be able to handle that temperature, shouldn't she?" she heard Mira asking with sorrow in her voice.

The Doctor didn't reply, just stared at the door.

"We're stuck here," she finally said. "Aren't we, Doctor?" she added as he remained silent.

Then he almost made her jump as he sprung into action. "So, we fix the engines, we steer the ship away from the sun. Simple. Engineering down here, is it?"

Had there been a hint of panic in his voice? Oh, she so hoped she was wrong.

"Yes," the older woman replied.

"Impact in forty twenty six," the computer-voice said.

* * *

 _Mira_

McDonnell had introduced her crew on the way to the engineering room. As they finally reached it, she tried to take in the chaos of cables and melted circuit boards that once had been a vital part of the main engine - and realised that things had gone from bad to worse. There was no way to fix this mess in whatever little time was left. She doubted it could ever be fixed.

She almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of the situation. Back home she had been as close as that, and even closer, to suns – and it had been completely save. Hiding in the corona of a sun was a long established procedure - the downside was being relatively blind. But then again, the sensors and scanners from enemy vessels weren't working under those conditions either. But, obviously, this ship had no shielding against the incredible heat and gravitational forces worthy of mention. She highly doubted that they even had the most simplest four-dimensional force-fields.

"Blimey," the Doctor commented the chaos, "Do you always leave things in such a mess?"

"Oh, my God," McDonnell said, absolutely shocked.

"What the hell happened?" Scannell asked.

"Oh, it's wrecked," Riley added.

"Pretty efficiently too," the Doctor said. "Someone knew what they were doing."

"Where's Korwin?" McDonnell asked now. "Has anyone heard from him or Ashton?"

"No," Scannell said and Riley and Erina were shaking their heads.

"You mean someone did this on purpose?" Martha pointed out the obvious.

"Well, doesn't look like someone just slipped with a screwdriver," she said whilst McDonnell went over to an intercom.

"Korwin, Ashton?" the Captain asked. "Where are you?" No answer. "Korwin, can you answer?" Then she let go of the intercom button and added as if talking to herself, "Where the hell is he? He should be up here."

She noticed that the Doctor was standing at a small screen and she walked over to him. It showed a star-map with a trajectory, most likely of this ship.

"Oh, we're in the Torajii system," he said eventually. "Lovely." He turned his head to Martha. "You're a long way from home, Martha. Half a universe away."

"Yeah. Feels it," Martha replied.

She noticed that Martha was still feeling awkward, just as the evening before, but she couldn't tell if it was because Martha now not only knew who she was, but also how old she was. Or if she had noticed what had happened between her and the Doctor. She tried to keep it down, to not show anything, and she was quite convinced she was doing quite a good job, but then again – did she have the same look on her face as the Doctor whenever he was looking at her? Hopefully not. Martha would have to be blind to not notice it. And she didn't want her to notice it, not until they themselves had worked out where this was going.

"And you're still using energy scoops for fusion?" the Doctor said and pulled her out of her thoughts. "Hasn't that been outlawed yet?"

Even now, after what she had seen in his mind, his perception and knowledge of time and history, it still was amazing how he knew all this stuff.

There was an awkward silence.

"We're due to upgrade next docking," McDonnell said finally. "Scannell, engine report."

"No response," he replied.

"What?!"

"They're burnt out," he explained. "The controls are wrecked. I can't get them back online."

"Oh, come on," the Doctor said, "Auxiliary engines. Every craft's got auxiliaries."

"Auxiliaries?"she said disbelievingly. "There's a whole lot of gravitation out there, do you-"

"They are strong enough," McDonnell interrupted her, "But we don't have access from here. The auxiliary controls are in the front of the ship."

"Yeah, with twenty nine password sealed doors between us and them," Scannell added. "You'll never get there in time."

"Twenty nine password sealed doors? What in hell are you transporting?" she asked, but instead of answering they all just looked at each other.

"Can't you override the doors?" Martha asked eventually.

"No," Scannell replied. "Sealed closure means what it says. They're all dead-lock sealed."

"So a sonic screwdriver's no use," the Doctor realised.

"Nah, rather some explosives or a blowtorch – a big one," she said quietly to herself.

"Nothing's any use," Scannell said. "We've got no engines, no time, and no chance."

"Oh, listen to you," the Doctor said, raising his voice and looking at him. "Defeated before you've even started. Where's your Dunkirk spirit? Who's got the door passwords?"

"They're randomly generated," Riley replied. "Reckon I know most of them."

"Then what're you waiting for, Riley? Get on it!" the Doctor said.

"Well, it's a two person job. One, a technish for the questions, and the other to carry this. The oldest and cheapest security system around, eh, Captain?"

"Reliable and simple, just like you, eh, Riley?" McDonnell replied.

There definitely was a certain kind of companionship on this ship, one that she had seen and felt so many times before between crew members who had happened to work on the same ship, been together in outer space for months, even years, and had to get along with each other. It was not really friendship - in some way it even was more. It was a weirdly intense way of getting to know each other, of getting along with each other and all those annoying little habits people tended to have. Getting along without killing each other at some point.

"Try and be helpful, get abuse," Riley replied with mild sarcasm in his voice as he put a massive backpack on. "Nice."

"I'll help you," Martha said. "Make myself useful."

Probably a good idea – it would keep Martha distracted, stop her thinking about dying in probably not even thirty minutes.

"It's remotely controlled by the computer panel," Riley said to Martha. "That's why it needs two."

"Oi. Be careful," the Doctor said to her.

She was glad he didn't object. It most likely was the safest thing for her to do. What could go wrong with unlocking doors?

"You too," Martha said.

Just then a voice could be heard via intercom, "McDonnell. It's Ashton."

"Where are you?" McDonnell asked. "Is Korwin with you?"

"Get up to the med-centre now!" he yelled, and the tone in his voice left no room for interpretations.

She followed the Doctor and McDonnell who ran past Martha and Riley.

"Impact in thirty four thirty one," the computer announced emotionless.

* * *

 _Doctor_

In the sickbay two members of the crew he hadn't met so far were trying to hold a man down, who was halfway lying inside a stasis chamber. Most likely there were also scanners integrated – but he was not too familiar with this technology without scanning it first.

"Stop it!" the man yelled as if in great pain, struggling and trying to get free.

"Korwin, it's Abi," a woman said. "Open your eyes, I need to take a look at you."

"Korwin!" McDonnell yelled. "What's happened? Is he okay?"

"Help me!" Korwin cried. "It's burning me!"

"How long's he been like this?" he asked, looking down at the man.

"Ashton just brought him in," Abi replied.

He had already pulled out his screwdriver and was scanning him. But it didn't make any sense – no signs of an infection or anything like that. But it _looked_ like an infection. But then it must be something he had never seen before – and that was almost impossible.

"What are you doing?" McDonnell asked him.

"Don't get too close," he replied and turned his head, searching for Mira.

He saw her halfway between the stasis chamber and the door, frozen to the spot, staring at Korwin.

"Don't be so stupid," McDonnell replied. "That's my husband!"

"And he's just sabotaged our ship," the man who was still trying to hold Korwin down replied. It must be Ashton.

"What!?"

He looked up and saw the shock in McDonnell's face.

"He went mad," Ashton explained. "He put the ship onto secure closure, then he set the heat pulse to melt the controls."

"No way. He wouldn't do that."

"I saw it happen, Captain."

He looked back and forth between the two of them, then turned his head to Korwin again. "Korwin? Korwin, open your eyes for me a second."

"Don't!" he heard Mira say, in such an alarming way that for a moment everyone – apart from Korwin of course – looked at her.

"I can't!" Korwin cried.

"Yeah, course you can," he said, ignoring Mira's warning. "Go on."

"No," she said again and came closer, looking at McDonnell. "What's your cargo? Anything living?"

McDonnell just shook her head.

"Did anything weird happen lately? Did anyone – or anything – else get on board?"

"No, what-" McDonnell said.

"Was their a collision? Anything?" Mira interrupted her.

"No, there was nothing, what-"

But before McDonnell could continue, Korwin cried out in pain again.

"Don't make me look at you, please!"

"All right," he said and took a hypo-gun from a tray. Obviously Mira knew more than he did. "All right, all right. Just relax." He looked up to Abi, who seemed to be the medical specialist on this ship. "Sedative?"

"Yes," she replied.

He pressed the device against Korwin's neck and a moment later he visibly relaxed and then fell asleep.

"What's wrong with him?" McDonnell asked.

"Rising body temperature, unusual energy readings," he replied and looked up. "Stasis chamber. I do love a good stasis chamber. Keep him sedated in there. Regulate the body temperature. And, just for fun, run a bio-scan and tissue profile on a metabolic detail."

"Just doing them now," Abi replied.

"Oh, you're good," he said and smiled at her. "Anyone else presenting these symptoms?"

"Not so far," she replied.

"Well, that's something."

"Will someone tell me what is the matter with him?" McDonnell demanded. Oh, she certainly was some though woman. No wonder, with her being captain of this bunch. "Why did you ask all those questions?" she added and turned her head to Mira.

"He's possessed," Mira replied gravely.

"What?!" McDonnell asked.

"Possessed," Mira repeated, looking down at Korwin. "Don't ask me by what – or how. There's something to him – I... I don't know. I've never seen anything like that before."

"What is it?" he asked her. "Something on this ship?"

"I just said, I don't know," she replied, still looking at Korwin. Then she shook violently. "It's alien, that's for sure. Keep him sedated here. Don't let him walk out of the sickbay. Don't even let him wake up."

He saw how McDonnell's face fell as she looked down at her husband.

"Hey," he said softly. "See about those engines. Go." She still didn't move. "Hey. Go."

Then, finally, she lifted her head, nodded and followed Ashton.

"Call us if there's news. Any questions?" he said to the woman.

"Yeah. Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor," he said, took Mira by the hand and pulled her with him. "And that's Mira."

"Heat shield failing. At twenty-five percent. Impact in thirty two fifty," the computer said.

* * *

 _OneWhoReadsToMuch, Natasha Strong, Wicken25, AxidentlGoddess, MiaEther, bored411, herherondaletotherescue, oXxgeorgiaxXo, Type40TARDIS, moonlightprincess99, NeoMulder: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_


	79. Chapter 79 - 42 Pt 2

**Chapter LXXIX**

 _Mira_

The Doctor pulled her with her, out of the sickbay. Then, halfway to engineering, he stopped. No one of the crew was near them as he asked, "Possessed by whom?"

He was still holding her hand as she turned around to him.

"I said it - I have no idea."

"Is it something on this ship?"

She shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment.

"It's alien. I mean, really, really alien. I really can't say. Maybe it is on the ship, maybe not," she finally said and shrugged.

"Well, then I guess we have to be careful," he replied, looking intently at her. "Come on! We have to get that engine fixed."

"In thirty-two minutes? I didn't know that your such an optimist. That's hardly enough time to figure out what's broken!" she said as he pulled her with him.

"Really?" he replied quietly, stopped in his tracks and turned around again, his dark eyes fixed on her, with one of _those_ looks. Despite the heat she felt a shiver down her spine "There I thought you knew me."

"Yes," she said, "Well, let me rephrase it. You can't accept defeat any more than I can."

"Here we go then," he said with a soft smile and turned around again.

A few moments later they reached engineering and he went over to the next intercom.

"Abi, how's Korwin doing? Any results from the bio-scan?"

"He's under heavy sedation." Abi's voice came over the board-communication. "I'm just trying to make sense of this data. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll let you know."

He activated the intercom again, asking, "Martha? Riley? How're you doing?"

"Area twenty nine," Martha reported quite out of breathe. "At the door to twenty eight."

"Yeah, you've got to move faster," the Doctor replied.

"We're doing our best!"

The Doctor now walked away from the intercom, leaving it activated, burying his hands in the remains of the engine.

She herself couldn't do much more than holding parts of the engine he handed over to her or giving him tools. Even though most engines followed similar design principles, it would have taken her hours, if not days – and blueprints and a handbook – to get to a stage of being able to do basic repairs for this particular drive-system. He on the other hand seemed to know it as much as he knew the systems of the TARDIS.

"Find the next number in the sequence three one three," Riley's voice came over the intercom.

"Three seven nine," the Doctor replied without looking up.

"What?" Martha asked.

"It's a sequence of happy primes," the Doctor explained, talking even faster than he normally did. "Three seven nine."

"Happy what?" Martha asked.

"Oh Martha," she barked in and took some more cables from the Doctor, "Just believe it!"

"Are you sure? We only get one chance," Riley asked.

She sighed. Should she now really explain the concept of happy numbers – and happy primes?

But the Doctor made the decision for her as he walked back to the intercom and started to explain, "Any number that reduces to one when you take the sum of the square of its digits. And you continue iterating until it yields one is a happy number. Any number that doesn't, isn't. A happy prime is a number that is both happy and prime. Now type it in!" The last sentence he had yelled. Then he looked up, obviously talking to her and the rest of the crew instead to Martha and Riley. "I don't know, talk about dumbing down! Don't they teach recreational mathematics any more?"

"Did they ever teach it?" she asked. "They certainly didn't when I was at school. Don't think most people would think of mathematics as a recreational activity."

"Why not?" he asked, looked up and seemed to be genuinely baffled.

"Well, because? I don't know. I do, by the way. I always found solving equations relaxing. It's clear, following a system, one and only one result – most of the times at least."

"Really?" he asked, still looking at her. "Maybe you should start again."

For a moment she did nothing else but looking back at him, as if everything else suddenly was unimportant. Not only that, she also remembered that he had gotten a rather detailed glimpse of the chaos in her mind. It took some effort to focus on the problems at hand again. "Engine," she finally replied and pointed at the mess in front of them. "Broken."

He looked at her for one more moment, then continued with his attempts to fix the engine.

"Oh, and," he then added, turning his head to the intercom, "Martha, be careful. There may be something else on board this ship."

"Any time you want to unnerve me, feel free," Martha replied.

"Will do, thanks."

"Impact in thirty fifty," the computer announced.

He stopped and looked up and around him again. "We need a backup in case they don't reach the auxiliary engines in time. Come on, think. Resources. What have we got?"

But before anyone could reply, Martha's voice came over the intercom again, "Doctor?"

"What is it now?" he asked.

"Who had the most number ones, Elvis or the Beatles. That's pre-download."

"Elvis," the Doctor replied, but then corrected himself, "No! The Beatles!" Only to change his mind again not a second later. "No! Wait! Er, er. Oh, what was that remix? Er, I don't know. I am a bit busy."

"Fine. I'll ask someone else," Martha replied indignantly.

"Now, where was I?" the Doctor continued, seemingly lost in thoughts. "Here comes the sun. No, resources. So, the power's still working, the generator's going. If we can harness that. Ah!"

"I don't think the Beatles were thinking about a situation like that when making that song," she murmured, but no one reacted.

"Use the generator to jump-start the ship," McDonnell said eventually.

"Exactly," the Doctor said. "At the very least, it'll buy us some more time."

"That is brilliant," McDonnell said, still looking a bit disbelievingly.

"I know. See? Tiny glimmer of hope," he replied and smiled at McDonnell.

"If it works," Scannell threw in.

"Oh, believe me," McDonnell said to him, "You're going to make it work."

"Impact in twenty nine forty six," the Computer announced.

* * *

 _Doctor_

Mira was right. He wouldn't surrender to a failing drive-system and a sun pulling them closer with every passing second. And certainly not to some entity or being possessing a crew member. Although, he wondered what it might be. He shot Mira, who was standing opposite of him, a quick look. It was really hot in here by now, and he could see little pearls of sweat on her forehead, and the short hairs around her face were wet and curly. As he drew his attention back to the engine, he heard Abi's voice over the intercom.

"Doctor, these readings are starting to scare me."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, Korwin's body's changing. His whole biological make-up. It's impossible."

He thought about it for a moment. If his biology was changing, then-

"Maybe it actually is some sort of infection," Mira spoke out what he was thinking. "At least it's not merely possessed in a psychic way."

"Maybe...," he said, looking at her.

"But there definitely was something alien to him. Within him. Something almost conscious."

"Well, could be both-" he started to say, but got interrupted by Abi.

"This is Med-centre," he heard her say, panic in her voice. "Urgent assistance requested!"

He didn't hesitate as he turned to McDonnell and Scannell, "Stay here! Keep working!"

Then he rushed out, Mira close behind him, and, he should have known, also McDonnell. It was her ship after all, so she wanted to know what was going on – he just would have rather seen her fixing the engine.

"Captain?" he suddenly heard Scannell's voice from behind.

Great, so only two people were left in engineering, trying to fix this ship now?

"I told you to stay in Engineering!" he said without turning around.

"I only take orders form one person round here," Scannell replied.

"Oh, is he always this cheery?" he asked, turning his head to McDonnell.

"Med-centre," Abi's voice came over the intercom again, "Urgent assistance requested!"

And then, shortly after her, there was another voice. "Burn with me!" Korwin? Although it sounded slightly different.

Next thing he heard was a bloodcurdling scream.

The scream seemed to last forever, and he ran even faster. But he didn't make it in time. The scream suddenly stopped before he could even see the doorway leading to the sickbay.

"Doctor, what were those screams?" he heard Martha asking over the intercom.

"Concentrate on those doors," he replied without even thinking about telling her the truth. "You've got to keep moving forward."

No need to tell her that Abi most likely had just died.

"Impact in twenty seven o six," the computer announced.

Finally, the arrived at the sickbay. But, to his dismay, it was empty.

"Korwin's gone," McDonnell pointed out the obvious.

Indeed, the stasis chamber was empty, and he was quite certain that Korwin wasn't hiding somewhere. But that was not his primary concern anyway. He had spotted something else. On the x-ray shield was an image of a figure, almost like a shadow. But there was no one standing next to it to cast such a shadow, and of course he knew already what it was – even though he really wished he would be wrong this time.

"Tell me that's not Abi," he heard Scannell behind him.

"Endothermic vaporisation," he replied quietly, touching the shadow which actually was ash – human ash – with his finger. "I've never seen one this ferocious. Burn with me."

"Korwin did that?" Mira asked next to him.

"What?" McDonnell asked, rather shocked. "Do you think? No way. Scannell, tell them. Korwin is not a killer. He can't vaporise people. He's human!"

"He was," Mira replied quietly as he walked over to the table with sheet with the bioscan results. "But I'm not so sure about that now – we don't know what he turned-"

"His bioscan results," he interrupted her, even though she clearly was on the right track. "Internal temperature, one hundred degrees! Body oxygen replaced by hydrogen. Your husband hasn't been infected, he's been overwhelmed."

"Celsius? One hundred degrees _Celsius_?" Mira asked.

Instead of answering, he just looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Fahrenheit wouldn't be that bad, would it?

"The test results are wrong," McDonnell said stubbornly.

"But what is it, though?" he kept on thinking aloud. "A parasite? A mutagenic virus? Something that needs a host body, but how did it get inside him?"

"Stop talking like he's some kind of experiment!" McDonnell stood in front of him, looking at him intently.

"Where's the ship been?" he asked, essentially ignoring her protests. They didn't have time for that now. "Have you made planet-fall recently? Docked with any other vessels? Any kind of external contact at all?"

"What is this, an interrogation?" she asked.

"We've got to stop him before he kills again."

"We're just a cargo ship."

"Doctor, if you give her a minute," Scannell tried to intervene.

"I'm fine," McDonnell replied, obviously getting herself together again. At least a little bit. "I need to warn the crew." She walked over to the intercom. "Everybody, listen to me. Something has infected Korwin. We think he killed Abi Lerner. None of you must go anywhere near him, is that clear?"

Then she turned around to him again.

"Is the infection permanent?" she asked. "Can you cure him?"

"I don't know," he replied, holding the sheet with the results against the light.

Well, most likely he couldn't, but she would find that out soon enough. No need to tell her the bad news right now.

But she seemed to know it anyway. Since when had he become such a bad liar?

"Don't lie to me, Doctor," she said. "Eleven years we've been married. We chose this ship together. He keeps me honest, so I don't want false hope."

"The parasite's too aggressive. Your husband's gone. There's no way back," he said quietly and looked at her. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you," she said quietly, visibly trying to retain her self-composure.

"Are you certain nothing happened to provoke this?" he asked again. "Nobody's working on anything secret? Because it's vital that you tell me."

"I know every inch of this ship. I know every detail of my crew's lives. There is nothing."

"You know what, Captain, you should really tell us. Even though you might think it's not related," Mira suddenly fell in, after she had brooded in silence the last minutes. "What are you hiding?"

"We're not hiding anything!" Scannell hurried to say.

"Really?" Mira asked. "You were thinking we're police. Why?"

"Well, they sometimes- Well, do inspections," Scannell replied, but stopped as McDonnell looked at him and slightly shook her head.

"So what is it then," Mira asked. "Is it your cargo?"

"No," McDonnell said after a moment of silence. "Guess it doesn't matter now anyway. We were trying to stock up fuel."

Mira looked at them, obviously quite clueless, shaking her head in incomprehension.

"It is illegal-" he started to say.

"Yes, I know," McDonnell hissed, wiping sweat off her forehead with an angry movement. "It is forbidden, but do you know how expensive fuel is these days? Anyway, I don't think it's related to what's happening. We only would have been a bit further from the sun, if..."

"Yeah, the sun," he said quietly, thinking about it. "The sun... Burn with me.."

"Is just a sun," Mira said. "Guess we're close enough to see that." She turned to McDonnell. "Why is it forbidden?"

"Doctor, we're through to area seventeen," Martha interrupted them via intercom before McDonnell could answer, finally pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Keep going," he replied. "You've got to get to area one and reboot those engines."

"Heat shields failing. At twenty percent," the computer announced.

* * *

 _Martha_

Despite everything she had seen since travelling with the Doctor, the whole situation seemed to be quite surreal. Surely they wouldn't crash into the sun. No way. The Doctor would come up with something. How much time was left anyway? The computer was constantly announcing it, but somehow she was unable to really remember it. Was it the adrenalin flooding her body? Probably. She turned to Riley, who was furiously hitting the portable computer.

"Everything on this ship is so cheap!" he said in frustration.

Suddenly she heard the bulkhead behind her opening. It was the one leading to area eighteen, and it should be no one down here with them. Who could it be?

"Who's there?" Riley asked and turned away from the computer.

She stood behind him, and slowly she could make out a figure through the smoke.

"Is that Korwin?" she asked quietly.

The man was wearing a helmet, so it was hard to say who it was.

"No," Riley said, "Wait a minute. Oh, Ashton, what're you doing?"

"Burn with me."

Martha felt a chill down her spine as Ashton replied. It was something in his voice. It sounded just like...

"Well, if you want to help," Riley asked, seemingly completely clueless.

"Burn with me. Burn with me!" Ashton repeated whilst coming closer.

Finally, he started to open the filter of the helmet. That was enough for her.

"Move! Come on!" she yelled and dragged Riley with her, hitting on the open-button to a door, leading to a small adjacent area. Could be a storage room, but she didn't care much right now. The door shut just in time behind them, and a moment later Ashton was looking through the glass in the door.

Riley opened another, smaller hatch, and the both climbed through. Well, she thought, one more door between them and Ashton basically was a good thing. A moment later the door slides closed over the hatch. Had Ashton done that?

"What is happening on this ship?" Riley asked.

"Never mind that, where are we?"

"Airlock sealed. Jettison escape pod," the computer announced before Riley could answer.

"That doesn't mean us?" she asked and looked around in panic. "Doctor!"

"Pod jettison initiated," the computer said.

Okay, it was getting serious. She finally spotted an intercom and hit the speak-button, "Doctor! We're stuck in an escape pod off the area seventeen airlock. One of the crew's trying to jettison us! You've got to help us!"

Then she turned her head to Riley, who was hacking frantically on a keyboard.

"Tell me you can stop it," she breathed.

"Jettison held," the computer announced a second later.

"Thank you," Riley said, sounding quite pleased with his work.

But, just seconds later, the computer destroyed their hope, "Jettison reactivated."

She couldn't help but to scream in utter terror, hammering against the window in the hatch. It took only little imagination to picture what would happen to the escape pod so close to the sun.

"Come on," Riley said between gritted teeth as he was trying to revert whatever Ashton had done. "Tsilpinski sequence. This'll get him."

"Jettison held. Escape pod stabilised."

"You're pretty good," she said and leaned with her head against his shoulder. But Ashton was still outside...

* * *

 _Doctor_

Martha's call reached him as they were halfway to the engineering.

"Doctor! We're stuck in an escape pod off the area seventeen airlock. One of the crew's trying to jettison us! You've got to help us!"

"Why is this happening?" McDonnell asked.

"Stay here," he yelled instead of answering her. He started to run down to Martha as he stopped for one more moment and added, "I mean it this time! Jump start those engines!"

When he reached area seventeen, he saw a man standing at the hatch leading to the escape pod. For a moment he thought it was Korwin, but he was wearing different clothes. Ashton. He stopped so abruptly that he could feel Mira slightly bumping into his back.

"That's enough! What do you want? Why this ship? Tell me!" he yelled at what once had been Ashton.

He had no illusions – Ashton was gone, just as Korwin was. Ashton turned his head, and then, after a moment of staring at him, he violently hit his fist through the keypad.

"Jettison activated," the computer announced.

Ashton turned around and started to walk towards him. He grabbed behind him, to make sure Mira was still there – and, if so, to keep her there – but there was only empty space behind him. Then he saw a motion out of the corner of his eye, but he kept his eyes fixed on Ashton, who was standing barely a feed away from him now.

"Come on," he said. "Let's see you. I want to know what you really are."

For a long moment Ashton just stood there, staring at him. Well, at least it seems as if he was staring – he couldn't see his eyes. Then, slowly but surely, Ashton started to lift his hands, reaching for the visor on his helmet. But, just as he was about to open it, he doubled over in pain.

"Airlock sealed," the computer said.

As if he had only waited for that, Ashton walked right past him, brushing his shoulder with his. Then he also saw where Mira had been all the time. Right behind Ashton, and now she slowly lowered the massive metal bar she was holding firmly in both hands.

"Well," he said, looking her up and down, "Thanks I guess."

"I didn't hit him," she said, looking back at him in confusion.

"Yeah, I know, it was something else. But nevertheless, thanks," he replied and jumped over to the nearest intercom. "McDonnell? Ashton's heading in your direction!"

* * *

 _Sorry for the long time between the updates, some old issues came up and I essentially had the energy, but not quite the focus/peace of mind to really write something coherent. I think it's good again now, but just saying, in case this chapter seems a bit confused – I'm trying to get into it again :-)_

 _OneWhoReadsToMuch, NeoMulder, Julia N SnowMiko, bored411, Emmisaryofthewolf, Pridia, DarknessShallSpreadXx: Thanks for reading and leaving a review :-)_

 _Guest: Thank you for the offer. I have to admit, that particular chapter actually was full of typos. I knew it, and I always was too lazy to edit it – I've done it now. Sorry for that. Unfortunately your mail address got cut, it's not allowed to post links/anything with dots in it that might resemble a link. Apart from that, I'm thinking about editing the first chapters anyway, so it would be pointless to have them corrected and then me putting in errors again ;-) So maybe at a (much) later time, but not now. But thanks again for offering your help._


	80. Chapter 80 - 42 Pt 3

**Chapter LXXX**

 _Mira_

Mira watched the Doctor, his hand still on the button of the intercom, hesitating for a second, before he continued, "He's been infected, just like Korwin!"

"Korwin's dead, Doctor," was the only reply McDonnell gave them, shock still in her voice.

Although felt really sorry for McDonnell, immediately her analytically thinking jumped in, sharpened by years and years of similar situations. One problem less, or, in other words, back to only one infected person wreaking havoc on this ship. Right now wasn't the time nor place to mourn the loss of him, all that did matter now that he died either of whatever has taken over him or he got killed by someone of the crew. She hated it, but she knew that every little information was vital, so she just had to ask McDonnell how Korwin had died.

As she met the Doctor's eyes she was quite sure he was thinking something similar.

But then they got interrupted by the computer, saying, "Airlock decompression completed. Jettisoning pod."

Next moment the Doctor jumped over to the window in the airlock door. She followed him, and all she could see was the pod slowly floating away, towards the sun. She could still see Martha through the little window, hammering with her fists against it, saying something. It was already to far away for her to read her lips, but it didn't require much imagination what Martha was shouting.

"I'll save you!" the Doctor yelled, even though there was no way Martha could hear him.

As she turned her head to look at him, he had already made his way past her, back to the intercom.

"Scannell! I need a spacesuit in area seventeen now!" he yelled.

"What for?" Scannell asked.

"Just get down here!" he said, left the intercom and went back to the window.

"What's your plan?" she asked, even though she could add up one and one and imagine what he could want with a spacesuit. But she couldn't quite believe it he would really do it. "Even when you get out, there's no way you can reach it. It's too far away already."

"I know that," he said, his eyes still fixed on the escape pod.

"What-" she started, but then stopped for a moment, looking at him. "Oh no," she finally continued. "You're not planning to go after the pod and-"

"What?"

"Enter it? Try to turn it around? I'm sorry, but- "

"Good thinking," he interrupted her and cracked a smile. "Nah, that pod has no engine to speak of, so I won't be able to fly it back. There's a magnetic lock outside on the ship. If I can reach that, the pod gets pulled back."

"You're not going out there," she said toneless. "You won't survive for a minute. The heat shields are failing, so what in hell makes you think you can just go out and try to reach something on the hull?" She realised that she had been yelling the last part of the sentence.

"I can't let her die," he replied. "I asked her to come along, and I'm responsible for her. I'm not going to lose her."

"There's nothing you can do! You don't think you'll stand a chance, do you?"

"Oh, you watch me."

"I certainly won't watch how you kill yourself! I'm sorry, I really am. But look, they are too far gone. There's nothing you can do!"

"I have to try it. I can stand the heat for a while, I-"

"You're not going out there!" she said and grabbed his hand - realising at the same time that she was not exactly behaving as rational as she should right now. Maybe he could stand the heat. She had no idea about his physiology, so she had to trust him on that. And she _should_ trust him. With everyone else she probably would have. How often had she trusted one of her alien friends when they had said they could stand certain conditions? But she didn't want him to go out there. Even if that meant sacrificing Martha.

 _But the sun's gravitation is too strong. There's no way the pod will get pulled back to the ship. It won't work, so he could just stay in here._

And yet, there was no way she could deny the ugly truth of her feelings getting in the way. She didn't want him out there. She didn't want him to sacrifice himself, a thing she had been about to do countless times for other's as well – even though on most occasions she had not thought about it in that way. It had only left her shivering after everything had been over with the sudden realisation of how close it had been. In situations like this there normally was hardly time to think something like: Oh, I'm about to give my life for you, maybe I'll die as a hero. No, that wasn't how it was working. It was just looking at the options and doing something - anything. All the rest was left for later – if there was a later.

She was still looking at him and it seemed as if he was about to reply, but then he averted his gaze and freed his hands. Scannell had arrived, carrying a red spacesuit. The Doctor took it from him and, without a word of explanation, started to get into it.

"What does he want with this?" Scannell asked finally, after looking back and forth between her and the Doctor for a few times, obviously quite confused.

"What does it look like?" she asked bitterly. "Don't think he's in for a nap or something like that," she added.

"He's not going to go out, is he?" Scannell asked, staring at her out of wide eyes. Then, before she could reply, he turned to the Doctor and repeated, "You're not going out there, are you?"

But the Doctor didn't reply, instead he went on checking the systems of the spacesuit.

"I can't let you do this!" Scannell said.

"You're wasting your breath, Scannell," the Doctor replied. "You're not going to stop me."

"You want to open an airlock in flight on a ship spinning into the sun," Scannell said. "No one can survive that!"

"Oh, just you watch."

"You open that airlock, it's suicide," Scannell tried to stop him. "This close to the sun, the shields will barely protect you."

"Thanks," she said to Scannell, her eyes fixed on the Doctor, her arms crossed in silent protest. "I just tried to explain the same thing to him. But he obviously doesn't care."

He spun around and looked at her as if she had just slapped him.

"Oh, but I do care," he said, and before she knew it, he found herself wrapped in his arms, held firmly against the hard and stiff material of the spacesuit he was now wearing. "And if you care, you let me do this," he whispered in her ear. Or had it been his voice in her head? She couldn't quite tell.

Oh yes, she did care. And she knew how much he already blamed himself for Martha being in that situation, but committing suicide instead of living with this blame was not an option, at least not in her opinion.

He let go of her and said, "If I can boost the magnetic lock on the ship's exterior, it should re-magnetise the pod. Now, while I'm out there, you have got to get the rest of those doors open. We need those auxiliary engines."

"Doctor, will you listen!" Scannell tried it once more. "They're too far away. It's too late!"

"I'm not going to lose her," he said, put on the helmet and went into the airlock.

"Decompression initiated. Impact in twelve fifty five," the computer announced.

* * *

 _Doctor_

He stood in the airlock, waiting for decompression to finish.

"Impact in eleven fifteen. Heat shield failing. At ten percent," the computer announced.

He was not as certain as he had pretended to be that he could withstand the heat. But what else was there to do for him? He knew – just as well as Mira – that he would not be able to live with the guilt of losing someone again. He just had to try it.

Then, finally, he could open the airlock door. Immediately he was greeted by an incredible heat, not to speak of the blinding glare of the sun. A human in his stead wouldn't stand a chance against the forces at work here. It felt like a storm, and in some way it was one. Just not with air but with particles emitted from the sun, thrust out into space by gigantic solar flares. colliding with the hull of the ship. If it wasn't for the vacuum, he could have even heard them. Additionally, the strong gravitational field was pulling at him.

He gritted his teeth, desperately trying to keep his body under control and working – wondering once more how humans could deal with having almost no control at all over their autonomous nervous system and anything related to that, like their body temperature – and took a step forward, desperately clinging onto the edge of the airlock. A safety line would have been handy now, he realised, but that couldn't be helped now.

He stretched out his arm, trying to reach a row of buttons on the hull. He couldn't remember when he had last done something like that, hanging out of an airlock in direct vicinity to a sun, and it took all his concentration and strength to finally reach them – if only with the tips of his fingers. Then he tried to reach for a box beyond them, knowing at the same time it was out of his reach.

"You're still there?" he heard Mira's voice over the intercom.

For a moment it seemed that he could not only hear the sorrow in her voice, but also feel it, in some weird, empathic way – but he wasn't too sure about that. It could be possible, who knew how their perception of each other had changed – he just hoped he would have time to find that out.

"I can't, I can't reach!", he panted, and for a moment he was shocked how strained he was sounding. "I don't know how much longer I can last."

"Don't give up! You're already out there, so just try it!" she replied.

For a moment he was startled – he had expected her to tell him to go back, he really had. And he was almost certain that he had heard in her voice how hard it had been for her to encourage him. He stretched out his arm again, and with one final effort he managed to rip of the cover and pulled down the lever. He heard someone shout, and a second later he realised it had been him.

Then he flung himself slowly back into the airlock, exhaustion rushing through his body. He took a last look down at the sun – and almost immediately regretted it as he felt something entering his body and his mind. It took him a few moments to realise it, but then it hit him.

"It's alive," he whispered, and then repeated it, as if he couldn't quite believe it, "It's alive. It's alive!"

 _Mira_

He had really done it. The hull magnetised with a dull, clicking sound of contacts closing. She saw how the Doctor stood in the still open airlock, staring down at the sun.

"Come back!" she yelled into the intercom. "Close the airlock now, or the pod-" But before she could finish, he had finally turned around. But something was wrong. It had been too much, even for him, being in open space so close to a sun. He crawled out of the airlock, the helmet in his hands, his eyes closed tight.

She ran over to him and tried to help him up, but he backed away until his back was against the wall.

"Doctor! Doctor! Are you okay?" Martha, who had left the pod, asked and tried to help him up as well, but he shoved her away.

Then, as he finally opened his eyes for a moment, they were filled with white, bright light. For a second she was frozen to the spot. She could almost feel the thoughts in her head falling into place. It was one of those moments of utter realisation, when everything suddenly made sense. The sun. _Burn with me._ The feeling of something possessing Ashton, something more than a simple infection.

"No," she whispered. "Please, no."

She tried to grab his hand again – she just had to know how far he was gone. She was well aware that she most likely put herself in danger, but she didn't care.

"Stay away from me!" he hissed between gritted teeth, tried to push her hand away before he writhed in pain.

Then McDonnell arrived. "What's happened?"

"It's your fault, Captain McDonnell!" the Doctor snapped at her with such rage in his voice that she startled and took a step back.

"Riley, get down to area ten and help Scannell with the doors. Go!" McDonnell said to Riley, who was standing behind Martha.

She watched McDonnell for a moment. The captain really seemed to be rather clueless. Sure, she had done something illegal, but she most likely hadn't seen _this_ coming. It was the sun. Of course. _Burn with me._ She had no idea how it worked, but it either was the sun itself, or, more likely in her opinion, something living in or next to it.

"You mined that sun!" the Doctor continued, his eyes still closed. "Stripped its surface for cheap fuel. You should have scanned for life!"

"I don't understand," McDonnell replied.

"Doctor, what are you talking about?" Martha asked.

Meanwhile, she had managed to take his hand which was still covered by the glove of the spacesuit, but she could not make any contact with him. That could be a good sign, as he still seemed to be able to block her, so he was not completely gone. But who knew for how long he would be able to fight it. Apart from that, she doubted she could help him. It was more physically taking over him than mentally, nothing she could really use her psychic powers against.

"That sun is alive. A living organism!" he yelled. "They scooped out its heart, used it for fuel, and now it's screaming!"

"What do you mean?" McDonnell asked and looked at her and then at Martha, obviously still not getting it. "How can a sun be alive? Why is he saying that?"

"Because it's living in me!" he yelled and bend over in pain.

"Oh, my God," McDonnell said, realisation written all over her face.

"Humans! You grab whatever's nearest and bleed it dry! You should have scanned!"

"It takes too long. We'd be caught. Fusion scoops are illegal," McDonnell replied.

Perfectly obvious and logical answer. Who would have expected the sun to be alive? Well, then again, the Doctor was somehow right. Why expect that it was _not_ alive? Anyway, now it was too late.

"You've got to freeze me, quickly!" he panted.

"What?" Martha asked disbelievingly.

"Stasis chamber," the Doctor explained. "You've got to take it below minus two hundred. Freeze it out of me! It'll use me to kill you if you don't. The closer we get to the sun, the stronger it gets! Med-centre, quickly! Quickly!"

She tried to help him up, and finally he stood, leaning heavily against her. Almost a bit too heavy. "Martha, help me!" she said, and together they managed to lead him towards Med-centre.

"Impact in seven thirty," the computer announced.

* * *

 _Martha_

They finally reached the Med-centre. Mira lead the Doctor to the stasis chamber, whilst she grabbed the manual.

"I can do it!" she said, trying to sound confident, as she caught Mira's look. The other woman just nodded and helped him on the table.

"Stasis chamber, minus two hundred, yeah?" she added, just to make sure she didn't get it wrong.

"No, you don't know how this equipment works," McDonnell, who had followed them, interfered now. "You'll kill him. Nobody can survive those temperatures!"

"He's not human. I'm afraid we have to trust him on that," Mira explained without turning her head.

"Let me help you, then," McDonnell said.

She turned her head to McDonnell and looked her up and down. "You've done enough damage," she then hissed at her and went over to the stasis chamber.

"Martha, not now. Keep it together," Mira said in such a tone that she immediately regretted having been so rude to the other woman. Mira was right, it was not the time now for that.

"Ten seconds," the Doctor said, his eyes still closed. "That's all I'll be able to take. No more." Then he turned his head to Mira. "Tell her!"

"Tell her what?" Mira asked, obviously taken aback.

"I might change, I might-" Whatever he wanted to say got drowned in a cry of pain. "I can't control it. If you don't get rid of it, I could kill you," he continued. "I could kill you all. I'm scared! I'm so scared!"

"No one is going to get killed. I won't let you, trust me!" Mira said, sounding astonishingly reassuring. "And you're not going to die either." She then pulled the silver, egg-shaped pendant over her head and managed to put it around the Doctor's neck. "Don't be afraid. I'm with you."

"What are you doing?" he yelled, panic in his voice.

"Trust me! I know what I'm doing," she just replied.

"But you said it will kill any-"

"That's not exactly how it works. It'll help your body to fight this- whatever it is. I-"

"Mira," he suddenly said very quiet. "I might change. I might not be the person I am now. There's something I have to tell you, or otherwise I probably never will-"

"Shut it," Mira interrupted him, grabbing his hand. "Keep that for later."

She looked back and forth between Mira and the Doctor for a few seconds, not fully comprehending what was going on. Why did she give him her pendant? Could it really help him? She seems to know what she was doing, but-

"Martha!" Mira interrupted her. "Ready?"

"You have to tell her!" the Doctor yelled again, his head still turned to Mira. "There's this process, this thing that happens if I'm about to die, I-"

"You're not going to die! And you're not going to regenerate!" Mira replied.

"Just promise me to stay with me! No matter how I end up. I had some nasty-"

"Shush. I won't leave you. I promise. Martha!"

Well, then it was her turn now. She somehow felt as if she was about to kill him. It certainly would kill any human. "Are you ready?" she asked him.

"No," the Doctor whispered, but there was no alternative.

She looked over to Mira, who had let go of his hand and stepped back and now nodded at her. She used the joystick to roll the table with the Doctor completely into the chamber. Then, trying to keep her hand steady, she typed 200 into the keypad and pressed the green button. She would never forget how he was screaming as his body temperature fell, not in all her life – however long that would be.

As if the computer had read her thoughts, it announced, "Heat shields failing. At five percent."

She looked over at the display and saw it was already at minus seventy degrees. But then, suddenly, the chamber stopped working and the display went black. Her first instinct was to check if she had accidentally touched something, but she hadn't.

"No! Martha, you can't stop it. Not yet," the Doctor yelled.

"What's wrong?" she heard Mira ask McDonnell.

"Power's been cut in Engineering," McDonnell replied.

"But how? It's only Riley and Scannell left. You said, Korwin- Are you sure?" Mira asked her intently.

Sure, it could be a failure due to the state of the ship, but, after what Korwin had done to the engines, she found it hard to believe.

McDonnell looked back at her for a moment, then said, determination in her voice, "Leave it to me." Then she left Med-centre

"Impact in four forty seven," the Computer announced.

"What now?" she asked Mira. "Don't think there's another stasis chamber, and he's-"

"Listen!", the Doctor panted between gritted teeth before Mira could reply. "I've only got a moment. You've got to go!"

"No way," she said and shook her head.

"Mira, take her with you. She can't stay here with me," he said and turned his head to Mira, eyes still closed. "Get to the front. Vent the engines. Sun particles in the fuel, get rid of them."

"Oh fuck!" Mira said and stared at her as if suddenly realising something essential.

"We can't leave him here!" she protested.

"We have to Martha. That's our only chance. Come!"

"But..."

"You've got to give back what they took," the Doctor said now – judging from the strain in his voice he would not be able to fight it much longer.

"Doctor!" she said and looked at Mira, shaking her head again.

"Martha, come. That's an order. Now!" Mira said to her, and something in her voice kept her from thinking twice about it. "And you stay here! Don't move!" Mira added, turning to the Doctor again. "Impact in four oh eight," the Computer said.

* * *

 _Mira_

She ran out of Med-centre, Martha following her. Could it really be so simple? Well, it was their last chance. If that wouldn't work, they were screwed.

She grabbed – merely out of habit – to the spot where the cell-activator was normally hanging on its chain, but of course, there was nothing there, leaving her with a feeling of being naked. She had never made a habit out of "lending" it to someone, and she was almost certain that it wouldn't work anyway. But the few times she had saved someone with it, it had always been someone close to her. Very close.

"Impact in three forty three."

She prayed the Doctor was right. On the other hand, there simply was no time to try anything else. And at least they would give the sun, or whatever it really was, back what they had taken. Even if they wouldn't make it away without engine.

"Mira!"

She almost jumped as she heard the Doctor's voice over the intercom.

"Stay in Med-centre!" she replied without stopping.

"I can't fight it. Give it back or burn with me," he said. "Burn with me!"

"Oh hell, just hold on a few more minutes," she muttered to herself.

"Impact in one twenty one," the computer said.

As they got closer to the front, she could hear Riley swearing as he was trying to get the engines started.

"Collision alert. Fifty eight seconds to fatal impact."

"Vent the engines!" she yelled at him. "Dump the fuel!"

"What?" Scannell, who was there with Riley, asked absolutely dumbstruck.

"Sun particles in the fuel. Get rid of them. Do it. Now!"

They looked at each other for a moment, but then they obeyed and vented the engines. She only hoped it wasn't too late. Neither for them nor for the Doctor.

"Fuel dump in progress. Fuel dump in progress."

"There!" Scannell yelled, making her jump. "The auxiliaries are firing!"

And then she could feel it. The artificial gravity and the inertia dampeners couldn't quite take up for a moment as the ship accelerated, and suddenly it seemed as if the whole room was tilting to the side. It was, in some way, following the movements of the ship, even though the ship's systems normally would compensate that. She was down on the floor before she could lose her balance, as there was nothing near her to hold on to. It didn't prevent her from sliding over the floor, but at least now she didn't fall and went flying in an uncontrolled way.

"Impact averted. Impact averted. Impact averted."

"We're clear," Riley said, pushing himself up to his feed again, "We've got just enough reserves."

But she had already started to run towards the Med-centre, even though she had a distinct feeling the Doctor wouldn't be there anymore.

And indeed, she met him halfway there. He just got back to his feed, but his eyes were open and looking normal again.

"Doctor!" she yelled and he looked at her, smiling weakly. A moment later she lay into his arms. For a long moment non of them said a word, then he slowly let go of her. He pulled the pendant over his head, looked at it for a moment and then put it over her head. She couldn't help it, but he almost gave the impression to be glad of being rid of it again. And then she realised what had been there in his eyes as he had looked at it. It was the same weird, primal fear rushing over someone when coming in contact with superior technology. The same fear the first humans might have once experienced at their first contact with fire. The same feeling she sometimes got inside the TARDIS, or when he casually mentioned something about Time Lord technology.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "You might have saved me with that."

"Maybe," she replied just as quietly. It didn't matter now anyway. He was still here. They were all still here. Well, not all. Korwin, Ashton, Abi, Erina – and McDonnell, most likely. She was not too sure about McDonnell, but something was telling her she was dead as well.

"Doctor!" Martha's shout made her turn around and then step aside, as Martha was almost jumping at him and into his arms.

 **...**

Later they were back where it had all started – Area thirty, together with what little was left of the ship's crew, Scannell and Riley.

McDonnell was indeed dead, and she could only imagine what had happened, as she had died alone, neither Scannell nor Riley had been there. It hit her rather hard, for McDonnell had been a great captain in her eyes – even after her the mistakes she had made.

But at least the TARDIS had survived the heat without showing any trace of almost being melted.

"This is never your ship," Scannell said after looking the TARDIS up and down for several moments, apparently trying to comprehend what he was seeing.

"Compact, eh?" the Doctor replied and patted his ship affectionately. "And another good word, robust. Barely a scorch mark on her."

"We can't just leave you drifting with no fuel," Martha said, changing topic.

"We've sent out an official mayday," Riley replied. "The authorities'll pick us up soon enough."

"Though how we explain what happened," Scannell added.

"Just tell them," the Doctor said. "That sun needs care and protection just like any other living thing." Then he left without saying goodbye and went into the TARDIS.

She was about to follow him – she was not particularly into goodbyes herself – but then she remembered her manners, stopped in the door-frame, turned around and waited for Martha.

"Oh, er, you're off then. No chance I'll see you again?" Riley just asked her.

"Not really," Martha replied. "It was nice, not dying with you. I reckon you'll find someone worth believing in."

"I think I already did," he replied, and next thing she saw was Martha kissing him.

 _Oh okay, time to go._

She turned around again and went into the TARDIS. Martha followed a few moments later, before she could exchange a single word with the Doctor, who was standing at the console, staring into space.

"So," Martha said cheerfully. "Didn't really need you in the end, did we?" Then, obviously realising how inappropriate this just had been, she stopped in her tracks, and then added, not as cheerfully as before, "Sorry. How are you doing?"

A good question, and one she herself would have liked to hear an answer to.

But the Doctor ignored it completely, instead he jumped back into action.

"Now, what do you say?" he said, flipping switches and pressing buttons. "Ice skating on the mineral lakes of Kur-ha. Fancy it?"

She just shook her head without saying anything. At least now she knew that there was a slight chance of them having something remotely like a conversation later; once their were alone.

"Whatever you like," Martha said in a miffed voice.

He stopped dead, looking back and forth between them. Well, he definitely seemed to realise that diverting from him and his issues like that wasn't quite working any more.

Then he walked over to Martha and pulled a key out of his pockets. "By the way, you'll be needing this." He hold the key up on its chain and Martha grabbed it, her eyes big with disbelief.

"Really?" Martha breathed.

"Frequent flier's privilege. Thank you."

Martha took the key, and then seemed to remember something.

"Oh, no. Mum," she said and pulled the phone out of her pocket. Then she walked a few steps away, her back to them and on a phone call with her mother.

For a moment she felt slightly envious that Martha had gotten a key after such a short time travelling with him, but quickly it was replaced with pain and tears welling up in her eyes as she watched Martha having a phone call with her mother, as if it was nothing at all. Suddenly she felt a soft, cool hand in hers. And then, to her utter surprise, he gave her a soft, short kiss on her cheek. As she turned her head, he looked with a sheepish, almost shy, expression at her.

"Thank you again," he said quietly.

"Don't mention it," she whispered, looking over to Martha who still turned her back to them, then she leaned her head against his shoulder.

* * *

 _OneWhoReadsToMuch, Julia N SnowMiko, bored411, DarknessShallSpreadXx, Arashi – IV of VI, Type40TARDIS, casongallifrey, HchiShirosaki: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_

 _NeoMulder: Thanks, things are getting better again - hope for you too. If you ever feel like talking writing-problems, just feel free to ping me :-)_


	81. Chapter 81 - Down the Dark Road

**Chapter LXXXI**

 _Mira_

She was in the kitchen together with Martha, preparing something to eat – they had found fresh vegetables and rice-noodles, so the easiest thing to do had been a stir fry. The TARDIS didn't seem to think too high about fast or convenient food, at least she hadn't been able to find any.

She had wanted to head straight to her room, have a shower and then – well – _trying_ to get some rest, but Martha, as well as she herself as she had to admit, was starving. The Doctor had stayed back in the console room, but said he wanted to join them in a little while.

She noticed that Martha was giving her strange looks all they while whilst she was stirring the food in the pan. Probably she was suspecting that something was going on between her and the Doctor; wouldn't be to her surprise after what had happened on that spaceship and the things they had said to each other. Though she was pretty sure Martha hadn't noticed them holding hands in the console room, neither him giving her a kiss on the cheek. Not that it would have been a big thing if Martha would find out, but she liked to keep it between him and her, at least until they both knew where it was heading.

But, truth to be told, that was right now the least of her worries. It took all her strength to keep up a mask of self control and content, and not to break down in tears.

Over the last hours everything had come together, and the more time passed, the more she realised how close it had been. Not even for herself, but for Martha, and also for the Doctor. She didn't even dare to think about how things could have gone wrong if he wouldn't have been able to fight that strange life form for so long. A thousand possibilities were popping up in front of her eyes. What if he would have killed someone? If he himself had survived, he would have never forgiven himself. What if he would have died and they – Martha and her - survived? She would have been all alone in this strange universe, with literally nowhere to go. The universe - seemingly so incredibly cruel in its indifference from the perspective of every intelligent being - separating them so shortly after they had finally found each other would have well fitted into the great scheme of things.

Apart from all that she had realised she was actually envious of Martha. It was gnawing at her that she had this simple, normal life with all her simple, normal problems, being able to just give her mother a call.

There was a good chance that this would never ever happen for her again. Even if there was a way back to her universe, who could say how much time had passed there? Maybe they were all long dead then. And maybe not only the people there, but–

The image of the black and dead sky she had seen in her dream appeared before her eyes again.

It was then when a slightly burned smell reached her nose.

"Mira?" Martha's voice reached her ears.

She looked down at the pan and quickly started to move the vegetables in there again.

"It's not too bad," she replied quietly without looking at Martha. "Just a bit dark, but not burned. Not _really_ burned at least."

"Well, I don't mind," Martha replied lightly as she put plates on the table. "I just want _something_ to eat and then have a shower."

"Definitely still edible," she replied absent-mindedly.

Martha stepped over to her, the bowl with the rice-noodles in her hand and poured them into the pan.

"So," she said without looking up, "You've been together quite a while then?"

* * *

 _Martha_

Well, there it was. She knew had to ask it eventually, otherwise she would just drop dead. There most likely wasn't a right moment for it, so she could just ask it now, for she actually was alone with Mira. For some reason she didn't dare to ask the Doctor. No, that would be too obvious. And especially now, after all the things Mira had said to him back on that ship, she just needed to know. At least a part of her had the decency to actually feel bad for thinking about how her chances with him were, right now of all moments.

Mira turned her head around and looked at her, apparently dumbfounded. But who could really tell with her? Was she really that surprised? She still didn't fully understand how her psychic abilities were working – Mira couldn't read her thoughts, that she had said herself, but apart from that? Who could tell.

"What do you mean?" Mira finally asked tentatively.

"Well, you and him. You've been together, haven't you?" she asked, trying to sound casually, turning away to place the empty bowl back on the counter.

"No," Mira said slowly, shaking her head. "We... No, we haven't been together. Well, we travel together, and I stay here because I don't have anywhere else to go, but that's it, really... Why?"

For one long, awkward moment they just looked at each other. She couldn't help but to feel as if Mira could read her like an open book. It was almost like the looks the Doctor sometimes gave her.

"Don't know, really," she said and shrugged. Oh hell, how to get out of this situation? "Just seemed like it to me. You seemed to know each other quite well, this 'old couple' feeling, you know? "

"Old couple feeling?! Really?" A well known voice behind her made her jump.

She turned around, feeling her face starting to burn. She hadn't heard him coming. "Uhm... I..." she stammered, but he didn't seem to care much as he turned his head to Mira.

"Is something burning?" he asked and got closer to the hob, his nose over the pan.

"It's not _burned_ ," Mira replied pointedly and finally carried the pan over to the table, waving him out of her way.

"But it smells like," the Doctor insisted, following her.

"It's just a bit darker, not really burned," she repeated Mira's words, before she realised that it would not quite come across as an attempt to help her out.

"You know what?" Mira said as she put the pan on the table with slightly more force than necessary, "Eat it or leave it."

She had just pulled a chair away from the table to sit down, when the tone in Mira's voice made her stop in her tracks. She looked over to the Doctor, who had done the same thing, his hand on the back of the chair, and caught his eyes. He shot a quick look to Mira, then looked back at her. Without another word, they sat down.

* * *

 _Mira_

She was standing in the bathroom, leaning heavy with her hands on the wash-basin. She had wanted to take a shower, but so far she hadn't even undressed. She lifted her head again with a sigh, staring at her reflection in the mirror. For a moment her mind was more or less blank, as she studied the lines between her eyebrows, the dark circles around her eyes, and noticed how gaunt her face had become over the last weeks. But, apart from that, it was still the same face staring back at her that it had been for the last centuries. Nothing had changed, not a single thing.

She tried to remember the subtle changes she had seen in it between her late teens and her late twenties. How her cheekbones had become more pronounced, her cheeks less rounded, making her face appear slightly more womanly and less girlish – though she had still looked younger than she had been. And then, from her thirtieth birthday onwards, everything had stayed the same. Of course more stressful times had shown on her face, just as it did right now, but they hadn't left new, permanent wrinkles, grey hair or anything like that.

And now that same old and young face somehow seemed to negate all the years and years she had lived through. It was as if her own reflection was mocking her, staring back out of dead, tired eyes, laughing at her assumptions that all that had happened would make the slightest difference to anyone - not even to herself.

Her eyes were in fact – and in her belief – the only thing that had changed. When she had been younger, much younger, and she had seen pictures of herself, she had always been startled at how alive and sparkling her eyes had looked. Now they were just empty, pale and tired. The longer she was staring at herself in the mirror, the more it seemed as if someone else was actually staring back at her. Staring back at her out of eyes that reminded her so much of her father's, a fact that had once filled her with bitter hate, but soon later she had found in him someone who had really cared for her, not given up on her – and she had tried to give it back later whenever she could. And even if they hadn't seen each other for years, they had always been able to tell if the other was not well. And yet, she would have never expected to feel so incredibly lost and alone now. She had tried not to think of him because the sheer and overwhelming power of it was almost too much to take.

But now she felt like she just had to think about him, had to try to imagine what he would be doing right now. And not just him, all the others as well. All who had survived together with her for one and a half millennium. She tried to remember their faces, their voices. She must not forget them, for her memories were all she had left. But _what if_? What if she couldn't remember them in hundred or two-hundred years from now on? What if she was still stuck here then and couldn't even remember their faces? Would that be possible? Well, she had forgotten faces before. Faces from people she had known for only a few years, faces she couldn't remember for the life of her. But then again, she had never tried to really memorise them in the first place. Not consciously at least. She remembered the person, but failed to picture their face – she couldn't even remember their name. She could still remember the face of her own mother though, after all those years.

 _Really?_

Could she? She tried to picture her, but how could she be sure that what appeared in front of her mind's eye was an accurate picture and not just some image, blurred and alienated by centuries that had passed. Panic was slowly rising in her. She _knew_ that she didn't even remotely look like her mother, but how exactly had her mother looked like then? Her hair had been dark, much darker than her own. Her eyes had been dark as well, but apart from that? How had her smile been like? Her voice? She had forgotten. Maybe not actually forgotten, for there _was_ an image, but she couldn't tell if she was only making something up or if the image was an actual and accurate memory. It was madness, and now she was pretty sure that her own reflection in the mirror was laughing at her; smirking viciously at her whilst she was slowly but surely going insane.

A sudden urge to smash the mirror rushed over her; to slam her fists against it again and again - until nothing but shards were left, shards to small to reflect anything. She had closed her eyes whilst imagining that, and now as she opened them again and looked up in the mirror again, her heard skipped a beat.

Behind her she could see a figure standing in the mirror. It took her a few seconds to realise it was the Doctor's tall frame in his dark-brown suite. Then it took some more seconds for her to convince herself that he was really standing there and not just a product of her imagination. Although, she was not a hundred percent sure of that. But why would she be hallucinating? He had never cared about closed doors, so he had just walked in and was standing behind her now, leaning against the door-frame, his arms crossed, looking at her through the mirror, his brows furrowed in sorrow.

She wanted to tell him to go away, leave her alone, but she feared to break out into tears when trying to say a single word. Apart from that she doubted she could just send him away. Not after what had happened between them. She had let him close to her as hardly anyone ever before. She knew and even understood him now on a level so much deeper and utterly different from anything one could hope to accomplish by just talking to someone. Not that she knew much more about his life; it was more a deeper understanding of his personality, of _him_. And she didn't doubt for a single second that it was just the same for him.

She watched as he walked over to her, over to her reflection in the mirror. It still seemed surreal, as if he was walking over to a different person, totally unrelated to her, who was watching the scene from a distance. Only when he turned her around to face him and pulled her in his arms, she felt in touch with reality again, at least a little bit. Now she couldn't hold it back any more, and tears were streaming down her face.

* * *

 _Doctor_

He had felt that she was in a bad shape all the way through their quiet dinner, but to see the broken look in her eyes staring at him through the mirror had shocked him beyond words. It left him completely helpless. All he could do was to hold her as she was lying in his arms sobbing so hard that he was afraid she would start to hyperventilate or forget to breathe all together. He whispered soothing words in her ear, and it took him a rather long moment to realise that he was speaking Gallifreyan. He hadn't used his native tongue in quite a while, not even when talking to himself. But now it were the only words that came to his mind.

"Mira," he said softly after a while, speaking English again so she could understand him. "Please, calm down. Try to breathe more slowly."

But he wasn't sure she could hear him.

"Hey, look at me," he continued, holding her at the shoulders so he could see her face. "What is it? Talk to me."

He hadn't expected it, but she actually looked up and into his face, if only for a moment, before she shook her head and looked away again.

 _Mira, please. Let me help you._

He took her in his arms again, not sure if she was able to hear it. There was some sort of connection, but she was on the edge of panicking, for whatever reason, so he was afraid she wouldn't understand it. He carefully tried to deepen the connection, trying to calm and comfort her, as it was such a natural thing to do for his people. He felt incredibly relieved as she didn't push him away – she almost seemed to relax slightly in his arms, even though she was still crying.

"I'll forget them," she eventually said tearfully.

"What?!"

It took him a moment, then he understood.

 _You won't forget them._

Now she looked up at him, her eyes wide with terror. "I can't remember my own mother! I don't know how she looked like anymore! And when I can forget that, I can forget _them_. And everything that happened. My whole life! I'll start do mix it up, forget things, then I'll forget myself, because it's only me left to remember, and there's no one to-"

"Mira!" he interrupted her loudly, hoping to snap her out of her panic, and took her face in his hands so she couldn't look away again. "Stop it! You won't forget yourself!"

"How can you be so sure?" she whispered, sounding utterly exhausted.

 _Because we'll remember it_ , he thought to her, pulled her close again and softly stroked the back of her head. _You can share it with me, everything, and then we'll remember it both._

* * *

 _OneWhoReadsToMuch, InfinityMars, Arashi – IV of VI, Julia N SnowMiko, DarknessShallSpreadXx, bored411, NeoMulder, E-man-dy-S: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_


	82. Chapter 82 - Ayxelurius Pt 1

**Chapter LXXXII**

 _Martha_

She slowly opened the TARDIS door and peered out. The Doctor had brought them to a place called Ayxelurius, one of the most beautiful moons of the known universe, as he had put it. She had gotten quite excited, as it was the first time they went to an actual alien world. Sure, she had been on New Earth, but that had neither been overly beautiful nor really alien. But even with all her excitement and the enthusiasm the Doctor had had when speaking about this planet – or, more precise, moon – she had noticed that Mira didn't look too well today. Her eyes were swollen and a bit red, and her whole face had that slightly puffy look that still lingered in the morning when one had spent the whole evening crying. And she had been quiet – more quiet than usual, that is. She had also noticed painfully clear that the Doctor had mainly tried to cheer Mira up, and never left her side, quite literally. She wondered what had happened, but pretty soon she accepted the fact that they most likely wouldn't tell her, so she wouldn't let it spoil this beautiful alien moon for her.

And beautiful it was indeed. The sky was a dark violet, dotted with a few, bright stars, and the horizon gleamed in a silver-blueish colour. High clouds painted soft patterns, the ice-crystals in them reflecting the sunlight in all colours of the rainbow. She could not quite tell if it was dusk or dawn, but the little drops of dew that glimmered on the turquoise, soft grass which grew up to her knee and slightly moved in a light breeze led her to believe it was rather dawn than dusk.

She took a few steps away from the TARDIS. The time-ship was sitting on a small hill, and in front of her, not quite a mile away, she could see a small village. The next moment she had to correct herself, it was rather a small town; with small, low houses neatly lined up, some of them with light in their windows. Spaces between them were left free, trees growing in them, probably serving as parks. They looked quite like normal houses, as far as she could judge in the dim light and from that distance. Apart from the fact that they all seemed to be round.

On her right hand side it looked like the edge of a forest about three-hundred yards away. She could not really tell the shape and colour of the trees yet, but she definitely wanted to head over there later on when it was getting brighter. The air was filled with a slightly sweet scent. It reminded her faintly of roses and lavender - sweet but not too sweet. Suddenly an insect, looking a bit like a rather big dragonfly with transparent, shimmering wings, came by and orbited her head. She turned around to follow it with her eyes, and then she saw it. The planet this moon was orbiting hung up in the sky behind the TARDIS, filling it almost completely. It was only half lit, and for a moment she had to fight the impulse to duck and cover her head, as it looked as if it was about to crash down on her.

"It's great, isn't it?" the Doctor suddenly said, standing next to her, dressed in his brown coat, looking up to the sky as well.

She almost jumped, turned her head and saw the big, boyish smile on his face.

"Don't worry, it's not falling down," he added.

Oh God, she thought, had it been that clear on her face? She felt a bit embarrassed, but the sight of the planet let her forget it quickly. It reminded her a bit of Jupiter, just that it wasn't red, but rather green and blue. And it had a system of rings, spreading out across the sky. She wondered for a moment how huge that planet was, for the moon she was standing on right now appeared to be pretty big to her – but then again, the Earth Moon had seemed huge as well – she assumed Earth was much further away from it than this planet was from its moon. But then it hit her. There was an atmosphere, and the gravity was also much higher than on the Earth-moon. So it had to be bigger, hadn't it?

* * *

 _Mira_

She couldn't remember too clearly what had happened or had been said the evening before, and quite frankly she didn't really care either. The only thing she remembered quite clearly was him whispering words in her ear in that incredibly soothing, melodic language she had never heard before. It didn't take a great deal of guesswork to figure out that it must be his native language. But even so, she just wanted to forget about the last evening and pretend it hadn't happened. Just as if she had never been one step away from the edge, act as if everything would go it's way without her losing her mind. She just would have to stay away from mirrors – or from anything else that would send her over the edge by staring too long at it. And keep company, the Doctor's, but certainly Martha's as well. Martha in all her youth and carefreeness – relatively to her own problems at least – who was now staring silently in wonder at the planet above her head. She took a look around herself, and the Doctor hadn't been exaggerating; it really was an exceptionally beautiful moon. The colours – ranging from the deep violet morning sky over the blue-green of the planet and its rings to the light turquoise of the grass – were absolutely striking. Sure, she had seen a lot of planets similar to this one before, but there seemed to be a particularly peacefully mood here. She couldn't quite tell why, and didn't care enough about anything right now to just ask. Instead she watched Martha, trying to remember the first time she herself had been on a foreign planet like this. As she realised she couldn't quite remember, she quickly stopped trying to. Not again. Not again being afraid to forget everything.

 _Stop it._

She was more than slightly startled about how fragile her mental condition still seemed to be.

 _Get yourself together._

She focused again on Martha as she heard the Doctor say, "Let's get down there."

She looked at him and saw him nodding towards the small town.

"They have the best pancakes in the whole galaxy," he added.

"Pancakes?" Martha spun around to him, slightly confused. "And who's 'they'? Humans?"

"Humans?" the Doctor repeated in astonishment. "Nah, way too peaceful here for humans. Ayxeluriusians, of course." He started to walk down the little hill, and she followed him, Martha walking next to her. "The most peaceful bunch in all the universe, as far as I'm concerned. You noticed it, didn't you Mira?" he continued talking as they walked, pretty much without waiting for an answer. "It's a pretty remote place out here, and when I say remote, I mean it. Remote like the outskirts of Andromeda Galaxy-"

"We're in Andromeda?" Martha interrupted him. "That's- No way. That's- Millions of-"

"Two point five million light years away from Earth," she said quietly. At least for her universe it was true.

"Yeah, pretty far from home Martha, hm?" the Doctor continued, turned around for a moment and grinned at Martha. "As said, pretty remote spot here. Nothing of interest either. No natural resources to speak of, just the normal stuff to make a living here. The whole system mainly consists of gas giants, this moon is the only inhabitable one here."

"And do they look human?" Martha asked.

"Who?" the Doctor asked, stopped and turned around again.

"The Ayxale- no. Ayxul-"

"The Ayxeluriusians? Nah, why would they?"

"Won't we stick out then?" Martha asked as they followed on his heels again.

"Oh, sure we will. They are a bit taller in general. Oh, and yellow. Yellow fur I mean. But as said, they're a peaceful bunch. Quite self sufficient. Actually it's really good they hardly ever get visitors. And if someone actually pops by, they just don't mind. They can't quite grasp the concept of someone not meaning well to another."

* * *

 _Doctor_

They were sitting in a nice, little cafe. Quiet music was playing, the food was as good as he had promised, and by now the sun was full up, dyeing the sky in a soft blue with a hint of green. As unambitious the Ayxeluriusians were, as much sense they had for the good things in life. They felt completely content on their little moon, enjoying the day, occasionally wondering about the universe (not that they were stupid, actually they were quite intelligent – they just didn't mind.) and apart all that were just glad to live. It was really a quite unique people, and wouldn't have survived for too long wouldn't it be for the remote location of their little moon.

And it was as he had said it – they didn't care much for them, even though they clearly stuck out. The Ayxeluriusians were bipeds, just like he himself and humans, but there the similarity ended. Their heads where about the hight where his head was, but they also head three flexible, about twenty inch long eye-stalks sticking out on top of their discus-shaped heads. Their noses and ears were hidden within their silky, yellow fur, only the thin lips were hairless. They had two arms with one thumb and two fingers each, and were looking a bit plump in their proportions. They were dressed in wide, colourful tunics, only the very small children were running about only covered by their much paler, almost white coloured fur. It was slightly longer as it was with the adults – it would become deeper yellow and shorter with puberty.

He had tried to explain to Martha for the last thirty minutes just exactly how the Ayxeluriusians were seeing the universe, why the had no concept of evil and distrust, but he was afraid she was not quite getting it. Probably they were just too different from humans.

Mira on the other hand didn't need to understand it. She would just feel it as if she was one of them. With a small shudder he remembered how he had felt the pain of the living sun – as interesting it had been, he didn't want to repeat it any time soon. Not to speak of being confronted with other people's feelings the whole time.

But right now he hoped their peaceful, trusting and content attitude of being one with the universe would rub off on Mira – at least a little bit and for a while. At least he could imagine that they were a quite pleasant bunch of people to be around for an empath. Apart from that, it was really a nice place to be, even though probably not _the_ most remarkable place in the known universe as he had said.

* * *

 _Mira_

It was really a lovely place, and she was still absolutely fascinated by the locals. She had never before felt such an absence of aggression and distrust in a crowd before. She wondered for a moment if the Doctor had come here because of that. True, the moon was lovely, but hardly unique as he had put it. She caught his eyes for a moment as he was talking to Martha, and wondered once more how he managed to look _that_ innocent time and time again.

Oh well, she thought, it's never wrong to try to enjoy peace and quiet as long as-

She instinctively covered her ears with her hands and ducked under the table when a loud bang of an explosion reached her ears. A few seconds later, as no further explosions followed, she lifted her head again and looked around. The whole place seemed to be frozen for a moment. Everyone was staring over to the dark cloud of smoke that formed not so far from their own location. It was definitely within the town, probably two-hundred yards away.

She jumped up, together with the Doctor. But as she turned to head towards the black cloud, she saw that he was about to head into the opposite direction, back to the TARDIS.

"Mira, come!" he yelled, grabbing Martha's hand, who was standing right next to him. "We have to leave!"

"What? Why?" she asked, and just at this moment finally the Ayxeluriusians started to move. It was not that panic broke loose, she could clearly feel they weren't panicking. But nevertheless, they started hurrying towards the site of the explosion. Suddenly the whole place was filled with people, and she could feel how she was slightly pushed with them.

"Mira, come!" the Doctor yelled again.

"We have to help them!" What was going on with him? Not only would he leave those people alone now, but he seemed to be quite shocked about something.

"They'll help themselves! Now come!" he replied and tried to reach her, but a few of the aliens ran by between them and she finally lost sight of him as she was carried away by the crowd. Not that it would have been hard to just turn around, as the locals still weren't panicking or violently pushing each other, but she didn't quite see why she should leave them alone now. She could at least have a look to see what had happened. Apart from that she still wasn't quite sure about the level of their technological development. Maybe they actually needed help.

A few moments later she must have almost reached the site of the explosion, but unfortunately the Ayxeluriusians where all taller than she was, so she could not really see anything. A siren went off and came closer – probably some sort of fire brigade. Something was still burning, filling the air with smoke and smell.

Then something else caught her attention. Something was disturbing, was steering up the still peaceful if slightly worried emanations of the locals. Something foreign, something hostile. Something that clearly didn't belong here. As she tried to figure out where it was coming from she got knocked over by one of the locals who obviously hadn't seen her when turning around.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" he – or she? - said and a second later she felt lifted up by two strong arms and put back on her feet.

"It's okay, nothing happened," she said and as a response the alien patted her affectionately on her shoulder, his three black, glossy eyes on their stalks looking right down at her. "Say, do you know-" she started to say, wanting to ask him/her (the voice had been quite indistinctive) about any other strangers in this town, but before she could finish her sentence the alien had rushed off.

"Fine, then don't," she murmured and tried to focus again. And indeed, she could feel the strangers again, this time not too far away. She turned her head until she looked into a small, rather empty alleyway, two buildings away from the one that must have blown up. She walked over to it, changing her way multiple times to walk around small groups of locals. When she finally entered it, it was seemingly empty. But she was certain those strangers were here somewhere. She could see doors in the curved walls of the buildings on both sides of the way, and a few yards ahead of her was a corner to the left. Whoever was here, they were there, just ahead. For a moment it crossed her mind that she was about to seriously endanger herself by just walking up to some clearly hostile strangers all alone with no weapons, but probably the peacefulness and the feeling of security coming from the locals had blinded her judgement. Actually, it might have been only the harsh voice behind her that made her think about it at all.

"Hands up!"

She had no idea how he had gotten behind her. Didn't matter now anyway – and she couldn't see if he actually had a weapon, but she felt that he was pretty self secure and serious about it. So most likely he really had one.

As she slowly lifted her hands, two more figures appeared in front of her, coming around the corner. And they were both armed. Apart from that, they were a bit smaller than she herself, her heads ending where here shoulders were. Their skin was dark-red, and they looked rather round – a bit like balls with arms and legs, dressed in black, ragged looking clothes.

"Can I shoot her?" the voice behind asked.

"Nah, wait," one the figures said. She sounded female and was slightly shorter than her companion to her right. "You're alone here?"

"Who are you?" she asked instead of answering their question.

"Non of your business. I'm asking the questions. Are you alone?"

"No," she said. No point in lying. And apart from that, they would probably kill her on the spot if she said she was alone.

"Can I kill her now?" the voice behind her asked again.

"Oh shut up, would you? Idiot. What use is she dead?"

"Okay, maybe you're right..."

"I'm always right, idiot. Now get her off that street, before someone sees us."

"And what if? They're so bloody stupid, as if they would-"

"Just do it!"

She heard steps behind her and muffled swearing. She didn't even have the time to turn around – there was only a sudden blow to her head before the sun went out.

 **…**

The next thing she noticed was a stinging pain in her head. The centre was at the back of her head, sending waves all across her brain, making her feel sick. There were muffled voices – or maybe they weren't muffled and it was just due to her being dizzy. She didn't move whilst she tried to understand what was spoken – should they think that she was still unconscious. But then suddenly a shrill alarm sounded, causing her to startle quite visibly.

"Idiot!" the woman from before yelled, "You left the locks open!"

"I didn't!"

"That's the intrusion detection, of course you did! Give me that gun!"

"But-"

"Shut up and move your arse, Do you think I'll check everything on my own?"

Then she heard steps leaving the room. As she was about to open her eyes, lift her head and look around, she heard steps again, this time coming into the room. Though, they sounded different from the heavy, waddling steps of her kidnappers.

"It's okay, they're gone. For now at least," a male voice said lightly.

Well, that might be the case, she thought, but who in hell was that now? She tried to figure it out with her psychic senses, but her head was still hurting pretty badly. Well, he wasn't human, that's for sure, neither one of those red guys.

But who-

Suddenly it hit her. Her eyes flung open and she sat up so fast that next thing she saw was little stars and snowflakes dancing in front of her eyes. She rubbed her head and blinked a few times, hearing that the door to the cell she was in got unlocked and opened.

"Not so fast," said the man now and kneeled in front of her. "You took quite a blow to the head."

She looked up, nodded slowly and carefully and studied him. He was rather tall, dressed in dark trousers and a black leather jacket. His dark hair was cut short, and the most prominent features of his face clearly were his ears and his nose – and piercing, blue eyes.

With them he eyed her for a while with such intensity that she finally had to avert her gaze.

"Say, do we know each other?" he finally asked. "Oh, and, by the way, I'm the Doctor," he added with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and held out his hand for her to shake it.

* * *

 _A/n: Sorry, I know, another short chapter again. I had planned to write a bit further, but unfortunately someone thought his radio/phone whatever was more important than the traffic in front of him and crashed with 30mph into the back of my car whilst I was standing still and waiting to turn right this week. But I really wanted to post a new chapter, so it's a bit shorter ;-) Oh and yes, we're both fine, more or less. Can someone give me a new neck please?_

 _OneWhoReadsToMuch, StarGazer, bored411, E-man-dy-S, DarknessShallSpreadXx, Julia N SnowMiko, HueHueFanfiction, xXEndlessImaginationXx, NeoMulder, MiaEther, Saffronellen: Thanks for reviewing :-)_


	83. Chapter 83 - Ayxelurius Pt 2

**Chapter LXXXIII**

 _Mira_

She looked back at him, then down at his extended hand. Her head was spinning, and not only because of the blow. She had this nasty feeling she got every time when she suddenly understood something – mostly really important things. That feeling when everything was falling into place, making her realise very clearly that she had just messed things up. No, she instantly corrected herself, not messed up. Screwed up big, big time. That was the reason why the Doctor – her Doctor, had wanted to leave so suddenly. But why had he come here in the first place?

When he slowly lowered his hand and the expression on his face changed to something slightly more serious it was definitely time for her to give him an answer.

Instead of taking his hand - as touching each other had gone wrong in an unintentionally intimate way – before, she rubbed the back of her head and winced as her fingers touched a rather big bump. Better not to risk anything.

"Mi-" she started and almost bit her tongue. "My name's Betty."

Why was he thinking they knew each other? If it was a later version of him, he'd better not dare to forget that he had ever known her. How much time would have to pass for him to forget her? Or something really bad had happened to his memories.

"Nice to meet you, Betty," he said, smiling at her again, interrupting her thoughts. Then he frowned, producing long lines on his forehead. "Sure that that's your name?"

How much did he know? Or, in other words, remember? Anyway, back to the problems at hand. Rather than him being his future regeneration it was more likely that, as the Doctor had been in such a hurry to leave, he had suddenly remembered being here before. So he must be a previous version. But then why was he thinking he knew her? Had she now become a part of his life ever since she had ran into his fourth regeneration? He had never really explained it to her. But, then again, they had met his fourth regeneration after him being this version, so how could he remember her if it hadn't happen for him yet?

 _To hell with time-travel._

"Yeah, pretty sure," she said, eyeing him suspiciously. "And no, don't think we know each other."

If anything she had to be really carefully now.

"Really? Never seen this daft old face before?" he replied, jiggling his earlobes with his index fingers.

"No, never," she said, trying to avoid his gaze again.

Before he could question her any further, she made her way past him and out of the small cell. May it be due to the blow to her head, to what had happened between them – her version of him and her - or to her overall rather fragile mental state, she couldn't bare lying right into his face.

She looked around herself. The room consisted of a handful cells, each about twenty-five square-foot large, lined up one on one wall, separated by solids walls, closed with doors made up of metal bars. The rest of the room was pretty empty, only a few metal lockers, a table and some stools stood on the naked concrete floor. The walls also were concrete, but as she touched it, it felt more like some concrete-plastic alloy as it was also used in her universe. She could hear how he got back to his feet as well behind her, but avoided turning around to face him. Instead she went over to the lockers, but they were all locked.

"How many of them are here?" she asked, noticing that the alarm had stopped.

It took a moment and then he replied with a counter question, "So, how did you end up here then?"

Something in his voice finally made her turn around to face him. He was leaning with his shoulder against the wall, his arms crossed, looking at her. His voice had sounded light-heartedly, and so was the expression he was trying to keep on his face. But something about his posture, the look in his deep eyes made her almost shiver. And it was not only the contrast between the tone in his voice and his overall appearance. He looked lost. Incredibly lost and lonely, and, despite his rather impressive frame, quite vulnerable. It struck her deeply to see him like this.

"With a space-ship?" she said, trying to sound as it was the most obvious thing ever.

"There's no space-ship," he replied instantly.

So it seemed the interrogation was not over yet. She tried to sence the guys who had captured her, but no one was near – yet.

"How would you know?" she said, trying to make up a good story.

"I scanned. There's no space-ship. Well, apart from theirs," he replied and looked around himself.

"Well, as I didn't walk here, there is. Not too sure though if it's still on the surface or back in orbit again. You should probably check your scanners."

"What?" he said indignantly. "My scanners are fine. So where are you coming from then?"

"Arkon," she said, as this answer was as good as any. And she certainly would not forget that name, as she would any made up one.

"There's no planet called Arkon."

"Okay, listen. Maybe your not half as good informed as you think you are. There's a planet called Arkon and there's a space-ship here somewhere."

"Okay," he just said lightly, smiled and rubbed his hands together as he walked past her, towards the cut-out in the wall which served as a door.

Well, fine, she thought and followed him. She knew very well that that was not the end of it, otherwise it wouldn't have been the Doctor. But there was nothing she could do for now, apart from getting out here as soon as possible, getting back to the TARIDS and silently listen to whatever dressing down her Doctor would give here about not listening to him in the first place. As much as she hated to admit it, she had made more than one mistake so far.

"So, you know how to get out of here?" she asked, walking slightly behind him through a long, empty corridor, trying to keep up with his fast steps.

"Yes."

"So are we leaving then?"

"No."

"Fine. And where are you about to go?"

"Children went missing," he finally explained, without turning his head to her. "I thought it's a good idea to look into it."

"And who are those guys?"

"Xandrians. Thugs, merchants, criminals. You name it."

"And what, for all planets, do they want here? How did they even found this system? Thought it's pretty remote."

"Well, you've found it too. Pretty far from Faron, isn't it?"

"Arkon," she corrected him, "And yes. Long way from home. We're scientists. Social sciences, that's why we came here. Pretty fascinating people, the Ayxeluriusians."

* * *

 _9_ _th_ _Doctor_

He was racking his brain about where and when he had met her before. He was almost certain he had, but he could not even say why. It was as if he remembered her, even though he shouldn't be able to, for whatever reason. He was not even certain he had _actually_ met her. Her face, her voice, was somehow familiar – too familiar to be only a product of his imagination. And her name certainly wasn't Betty – he had no idea what it was, but not _Betty_.

And she was lying to him. There was no planet called Arkon, and there definitely was no other space-ship in this system. Sure, they could have arrived within the last day or so, when he had been away from the TARDIS, but he doubted it. He would have located them, even outside the system.

"So, how many Xandrians are here?" her voice came from behind, slightly breathless by now.

"Quite a few."

"And where's the way out?"

"You wouldn't make it," he said shortly. Well, that was – at least partially – the truth. But he wanted to find out who she was, what she was hiding. At least as long as he was here, as long as she was here – that was all that mattered. After he had solved the situation here, he would be on his way, alone again. Searching for something else to distract him, someone else to save.

And he just got a lot closer to finding out what was going on here. At least now he knew it were the Xandrians, even though it still remained a mystery to him what they wanted with the Ayxeluriusian children.

"I think I can hear them in front of us," Betty hissed from behind, right as he was approaching a sharp left turn in the corridor.

He listened for a moment, but it was absolutely silent.

"No, you can't," he replied, turning around to her. She looked human, and even if she wasn't, it was highly unlikely she had a better hearing than him.

"They _are_ in front of us," she repeated in a low voice, pretty much ignoring him. "I might say twenty yards, thirty at most?"

Suddenly, there was a loud bang around the corner, followed by an angry, "IDIOT!", causing his head to fling around.

Then, quite startled, he looked back at Betty again. No way she could have heard them prior to that.

"Betty?" he whispered, as he saw the absent look on her face. Here eyes were staring into space, and she didn't seem to hear him.

But there was no time to wonder what was wrong with her now – at the edge of his sight field he saw a huge, black, square _thing_ flying around the corner. He turned his head and identified it as a massive locker, more like a safe. It was not really fast, but fast enough to make it hard to evade it – he reached for Betty's hand to pull her out of the way, but she had stepped aside, standing right in its flight path. But then, instead of hitting her, it suddenly came to a hold, seemingly ignoring the law of inertia. It stood still mid-air for maybe a second, then it turned around, accelerated, wavered a bit and, not quite making it around the corner, crashed into the wall, leaving a big hole before it fell to the floor.

"Why didn't you tell me they're psychic?" she whispered as she walked over to the safe to peer around the corner.

"They are?" he asked, slightly baffled.

"Yes! Well, maybe they're just really strong, but I highly doubt that. Looks more like telekinesis to me."

With that said, she went around the corner and he hurried to follow her.

"Betty, wait," he said, trying to grab her sleeve to pull her behind him. He had no idea what had just happened, but obviously she was psychic herself, as clearly she was responsible for the safe crashing into the wall. Anyway, this turned out to be quite dangerous, and no place to be for a social scientist.

"Don't worry, I have it all under control," she said and walked on without turning around.

He had no other choice but to follow her, and after a few yards the corridor ended at an open door. He saw the two Xandrians who had guarded her earlier, but something was weird.

They were hanging in the air, almost a yard above the ground, swearing, fidgeting and floundering around. He saw that the woman finally managed to get hold of a rather big gun she was carrying on her back, but as soon as she had pulled it out of its holster, it got ripped out of her hands and smashed against the wall. When it reached the ground only pieces were left, demonstrating once more the pure force behind the telekinetic powers at work here.

"Betty, I think you can let them down now," he said quietly as they had entered the room.

"I'm not doing anything, it's them. They wanted to lift _us_ up. Oh, and smash us against the wall. Well, at least he. She not so much," she said, her eyes still locked on the two Xandrians. "They have to stop attacking us, then-"

Before she could finish the sentence, the two plump figures fell down and landed with a nasty sound on their bums.

"It wasn't me!" she said defensively – obviously she had seen him shaking his head at her.

Meanwhile the two Xandrians had gotten back to their feed, eyeing them suspiciously.

"What do you want?" the woman finally spat at them.

"Safety inspection," he said with a wide grin. "I noticed your generator blew up, so I need to make sure your facility here is all secure. We don't want that to happen again, do we? Oh, and sorry for the safe. And the wall. And the weapon. My assistant is sometimes a bit overly enthusiastic."

"Safety inspection?" the woman yelled and grew even redder in her face.

She fumbled in her jacket, but he had his Sonic Screwdriver in his hand before she had readied the small gun she had been hiding. With a click and a buzzing sound the energy cell was dead. She looked down at the useless gun in her hand and now he was seriously worried she would explode any moment. But that didn't happen – instead she jumped over to the wall with an incredible speed for her shape, and pressed a big, red button. A klaxon went of, much louder than the last one.

"Lock-down in progress," a poorly modulated computer voice announced.

Not good. But thankfully the door behind them had been a normal door, not an automated hatch.

He grabbed Betty's hand – this time successfully – and said, "Run!"

* * *

 _Mira_

She had felt the sudden outburst of psychic energy some time before the safe had come flying around the corner. And yes, it probably would have been better to just try to run away and pretend not to know what was going on, but they were quite powerful – and certainly not into giving up too easy. And telekinesis wasn't the only thing they could do. She had felt them trying to read her mind, and in return she had been able to make out their next plans – unfortunately not much more than that so no hint about the missing children. Why they were psychic all of a sudden, as they clearly hadn't been before, remained a mystery to her.

Right now she tried to keep up with the Doctor, his strangely familiar and yet different hand in hers. It was bigger, not as slender as her Doctor's, matching his overall broader frame – and yet his skin was just as soft and cool. But it was not so much the shape of his hand, but the contact itself making it feel so familiar.

"Come, in here!" he yelled, stopped suddenly – something which seemed to be pretty constant with his regenerations – and pulled her into a small room, slamming the door shut behind her.

She wondered once more what lock-down was supposed to mean with nothing really locked, but probably it was only the doors leading in and out this impressively sized facility. But before she could wonder any more about it, she heard voices getting closer from outside. She looked around for something to block the door with, for it opened to the inside of this room. A large desk stood in the middle of it, which seemed to be weirdly out of place.

"Help me!" she said after she had tried to move the heavy piece of furniture.

"Just use your telekinesis, would you?" he said without looking at her. His interest lay on another door at the opposite side, leading out of the room. That one actually looked more like an automated security door.

"Very funny," she replied, pushing the desk with all her strength. "I would if I could!" she yelled at him, making him turn around at last. "I'm not telekinetic. Or how ever you call it. I just mirrored it. But I can't-"

He had finally laid a hand on the desk as well and pulled, causing her to almost fall over because she was still leaning against it. In no time the desk was blocking the door, additionally he had locked it with his Sonic.

"Will keep them out," he said and walked over to the other door again, scanning it.

"Deadlock sealed," he murmured. "Might take a while to figure out the combination, so keep an eye on the door, will you?"

"Sure," she replied, walking through the small room. It must be some sort of storage space, and as she went through the shelves she even found a gun. Just the right size for her hands, and from the looks of it some sort of energy weapon – the crystal she could see in the barrel was most likely for focusing light-waves.

Meanwhile everything was quiet at the door, it seemed as if they had run past it, at least for now. The Doctor was still trying to figure out the combination at the number-pad. If that was an electronically sealed door, and it was not a cell of some sort behind it – in which case, most likely useless for them anyway, it must have a fail-save. And most likely in case of power loss or destruction of the console it would unlock automatically, because it needed power to stay locked. At least that was logical, and most of the doors and bulkheads she had come by worked like that. Only cell-doors, airlocks and stuff like that tended to remain locked after a loss of power, for obvious reasons.

"Would you step aside?" she asked.

"Why?" he replied without looking.

"Just do it, would you?"

Finally he turned his head and jumped aside the next moment. She hadn't even had the gun raised but well, it wasn't on her to complain.

"Betty, don't you-"

The rest of his sentence was drowned out as the console exploded with a small flash and a cloud of black smoke. And there it was – a distinct clicking sound as the door unlocked and flung open a few inches.

He looked back and forth between her and the door, without saying anything.

"See?" she finally said as the silence slowly but surely became hard to bear.

"Put that thing away!"

"Why?"

"Put it away!" he said again and, walked over to her and looked down at her with a grim look on his face, blue eyes glaring at her.

After a few moments she lowered her gaze and put the gun back on the shelve where she had found it. No use in arguing with him about a weapon. Not now, not without knowing what had already happened for him and how long ago. With her Doctor she would have, and most likely kept the weapon, but not with him.

"What did you say earlier?" he said behind her, with a completely different voice as just a moment ago. "You mirrored them?"

"Yes?"

"That's fantastic!" he said and as she turned around she saw the wide smile on his face. And for a moment it even seemed as if it reached his eyes. "Don't think I have ever seen something like that before. Let's see what's behind that door. Keep behind me. And no more shooting!"

"No more shooting," she said and followed him.

She was pretty sure that no one was in front of them; at least she couldn't sense anyone. The door led to a short corridor which ended with another – normal – door. The Doctor flung it open and stood still, blocking it pretty much completely.

"Well, that's unexpected," he said.

"What?" she said and tried to see past him. "You're standing in the way!"

He didn't answer but took a few steps into the next room. Then she could see for herself. It was a rather big room, and a fully equipped laboratory. She took a quick look up to the ceiling, but instead of bodies hanging there it was only neon lights. And the laboratory itself did look nothing like the ones the Daleks had had on Earth. Nevertheless, it was rather high-tech, not ragged and filthy as the Xandrians had looked like. Long tables with equipment were lined up the walls, as well as a few tables with straps on them. It wasn't too hard to guess what they were for. She started to walk over to one of them, but then stopped as she saw something on the floor. She picked it up and suddenly regretted that she hadn't knocked the two Xandrians out when she had had the chance.

"Doctor," she said quietly, and this time he turned around to her at her first attempt.

The expression on his face darkened as he saw the tuft of soft, white, long fur she was holding between her fingers.

* * *

 _heroherondaletotherescue, bored411, MiaEther, OneWhoReadsToMuch, E-man-dy-S,_ _angelaDickson18: Thanks for reviewing :-)_


	84. Chapter 84 - Ayxelurius Pt 3

**Chapter LXXXIV**

 _10th Doctor_

To say he was absolutely flabbergasted would be an understatement. He stood and stared where Mira had vanished within the weirdly orderly moving crowd of Ayxeluriusians. But more than about her behaviour he was shocked about himself. How had he gotten it wrong? Again? He had been absolutely certain that it right now was not the time it had been when he had first come here. Well, truth be told, and he hated to admit it, he had just relied on getting it right somehow. Instinctively. He hadn't really checked it. But he had been pretty certain. Like ninety-nine point ninety-something percent.

And now he found himself in the rare and almost frightening situation of not knowing what to do next. Following her? Risking to run into his earlier self? Was it not enough that Mira would most likely bump into him? And then there were the Xandrians. They had given him quite a ruff time, and he could only imagine what would happen when they met Mira with her ability to do God-knows-what with their psychic abilities. And they had used them excessively back then.

Oh, and she just _had_ to wander off. She could not listen to him for _once_. Just once. So what to do next? He ruffled and pulled at his hair, trying to make up his mind. All options were bad, but which one was the best of them?

"Doctor?" a voice came from his right side. "What is it?"

He turned his head and saw Martha, staring at him out of wide eyes, seemingly confused.

"What happened? Why do you want to leave? Don't you think we should help?" she continued.

Oh no. Not Martha as well. She would not run off. He grabbed her hand to just make sure of that.

"No Martha. You go back to the TARDIS. I'll try to find Mira," he snapped at her, yet he still hadn't made up his mind if he should really follow her.

"But why?"

"Because! And don't think you can wander off as well!"

She looked at him for a long moment, and he saw how her face changed from looking confused to a hint of fear in her eyes.

"Look," he added, trying to keep it down this time, with limited success. "I've been here before. A while ago. Well, a while ago for me now, not when you take the current time right now as a point of reference. Anyway, I really thought I got the time right, I really did, you have to believe me, but obviously I didn't. So I was here, I am here, well, over there to be precise, right where the explosion just happened. So that's why we have to leave, and you can't wander off. We can't run into myself, do you understand that? It could create all sorts of weird effects, paradoxes, and who knows what, and now with Mira just exactly where I've been – where I am now – that... And even if not, with her being there everything what did happen will change, and..."

 _And I don't really know what to do._

It was then when he realised he had let go of Martha's hand and had grabbed her by the shoulders, staring in her eyes.

He finally let go off her, allowing her to take a step back.

"Maybe we should both get back to the TARDIS and wait there for her...", he said, not quite convinced, whilst rubbing his face.

"Maybe she's in danger?" Martha said.

"Nah. Either she's with me – well, yes, then it could actually get dangerous – or she's on her own, then she should be fine. She's quite capable. I actually worry more for the Xandrians than her..."

"Who are the Xandrians?" Martha asked.

"Merchants," he said shortly, staring over Martha's head to where the explosion had been.

Indeed, if Mira wouldn't do something particularly stupid, and she really wasn't the type for that, at least most of the time, she would be alright and more than able to deal with them. But he could not really tell what would happen when she ran into his former self. He had been quite different back then, more than convinced to never ever travel with someone, desperately trying to escape the horror he had brought over his people. And then meeting someone like Mira – as good as she was with making up stories – would make him more than suspicious. Suddenly he realised that he had no choice but to follow her to prevent the situation from turning even worse. For her sake and the sake of him, his own timeline and everything else that was on stake. And that could basically be everything, if it would come to the pinch.

"Martha, you go back to the TARDIS. Right back. Stay there, do noth-"

"Where is it? Over there?" she asked and pointed in the completely wrong direction.

"Seriously?" he asked and looked at her. She had just made that up, hadn't she? No one could have such a bad sense of direction. "Fine. But stay at my side. And I mean that. You're not even getting four feed away from me, unless I tell you otherwise. If you wander off even once, you're going back home! And if we meet myself, don't speak to him. Don't say anything at all. Don't even look at him. Just let me do the talking, got it?"

With that said, he took her hand again and ran off, right in the direction where Mira had gone.

* * *

 _9th Doctor_

He had a nasty suspicion, and as he went over to the door in the opposite wall with long, determined steps, he almost had it. How had he not gotten it earlier? It all made sense now. The missing children, the Xandrians, their sudden psychic powers...

He pushed the door open, noticing how Betty, who was walking behind him, tugged at his jacket.

"Not so fast, would you?" she hissed from behind. "I'm quite certain there's no living being in that room, but there could still be robots..."

"No, no robots, see?" he replied, taking in the quite massive amount of consoles and screens in the room.

It slowly dawned on him that this must be a much bigger operation than he had assumed in the first place. They definitely put some money into that laboratory and this control room. He went over to one of the consoles, not without noticing a few blue barrels in one corner. He pressed a few buttons, and some of the screens came alive. Now he saw why this room was empty – a whole bunch of Xandrians and other, taller figures who could easily be humans from Earth – were busy emptying a large storage room. On another screen he could see their spaceship in a sub-surface hangar. It was an ugly, old vessel, and he had serious doubts about its ability to make it into orbit again. And that seemed to be the plan, as he could now see some of the Xandrians entering the ship, carrying more of the small blue barrels.

It took him only seconds to gain access to their file system, finding his assumptions confirmed.

"What is it?" Betty, who seemingly was guarding the door, asked.

"Drugs," he replied shortly, looking further through the files.

"What drugs?" she asked after a moment.

"It's the children," he finally started to explain. "As long as they're young, the produce some sort of hormone. When it's extracted, it has life prolonging, rejuvenating and restoring effects on some species. It can even – temporarily – bring latent psychic powers to the surface. To an incredible amount," he continued, still fiddling with the console.

"That's horrible!" she said. "We have to get them out of here."

Instead of answering, he continued analysing the systems.

"And what are you going to do now?" she asked after a while, filled with silence.

"Putting an end to it, and probably teaching them-"

Before he could say more, he heard the door, then someone grunting behind him, followed by Betty's voice, "One move and I-"

He spun around and saw her holding a man with his back to her, a gun pointing at his head. It wasn't one of the Xandrians, but one of the more human looking ones – even though he was rather small, a few inches shorter than Betty.

"Don't you dare killing him!"

"What!?" she said and turned her head to him for a short moment. "How about, 'Thanks, you just saved our arses'?" she continued, her attention back on her prisoner. "He would have had less qualms about killing us! Besides, I'm no murderer. But I definitely will knock him out if he causes any troubles. Did you hear that?" she now addressed the man she was still holding.

"Fine. Keep an eye on the door, would you?" he said and turned to the console again. "Brilliant!" he yelled a few moments later, after he had found what he had been looking for.

"I really hate to spoil your enthusiasm," Betty replied, "But there are more coming!"

"Let them," he simply said, turned to the door, arms crossed, and waited.

He didn't have to wait long. Not a minute later the door opened again, and the Xandrian woman walked in, followed by the guy she only called 'Idiot', and two others, who were pointing guns at them. Before he could say anything, Betty had turned so that her prisoner was no facing his companions, using him as a living shield. Nothing he approved of, but he couldn't change it either.

He saw that Betty and that woman stared at each other for a long moment, and he could quite guess what was going on between them on a psychic level.

"You'll never make it out here," she finally addressed him.

"Nope, probably not," he replied calmly. "You neither."

"What?! Do you really think using him as a shield will stop me? I don't even know his name, so why should I care? He's expendable."

"Before thinking about replacing your staff, I would rather replace that old vessel of yours. And definitely not wiring its systems with the main control console. Granted me access to the main reactor control. There I thought those old, dirty fission reactors were banned ages ago. Oh, and I overloaded it. It will blow up in-" he looked over to one of the screens which was showing a timer, "Twelve minutes and thirty-five seconds. Taking down this whole facility as well."

The woman looked back and forth between him and the screen a few times, then she said, "You're bluffing."

"Nope."

"You'll die with us."

"Yup."

"You're mad!"

"Yes," he said, cracking a smile.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor," he said, his smile growing even wider. "Eleven minutes, by the way. I suggest getting into that ship and initialising the start sequence. I reprogrammed it, so once initialised, it will take you back to your homeworld. No way to overwrite it. The reactor overloading sequence will then stop."

"You're bluffing! He's bluffing," the woman replied, turning to Betty now.

"No, as far as I know him, he most likely isn't," Betty replied.

And here it was again. Did she just say it, or did she inadvertently slip something about knowing him she hadn't meant to say?

"Ten minutes left," he said. "Oh, and don't try to leave someone behind. You have quite advanced scanners on that old banger and a good record-keeping about your staff. Better make sure they're all on board, otherwise the start sequence won't initialise."

"We can always come back, you know?" the woman said and stared at him for one more moment, before she turned around, yelling in a small comm-device she was carrying, "Evacuate. Repeat, immediately evacuate facility. Take off in ten minutes!"

Betty gave her prisoner a nudge in his back, but he was more than eager to follow his fellow guards. He watched on the screen how one after the other made it into the spaceship, the last few just made it at nine minutes and twelve seconds. A moment later the start sequence was initiated, and the ship took off in a cloud of smoke from the liquid propellant rocket engines they used to manoeuvre within the atmosphere.

"They will return, you know," Betty finally said. "At least that was not a bluff."

"Don't think so. It's not going to be a direct flight home; they'll make a stop at the Shadow Proclamation."

"And?"

"Well, that here is a protected world under Article twenty-three. So they committed a serious crime. It's all in their computer systems. Don't think they'll come back any time soon. Now, come on. Let's see where they keep those poor children."

* * *

 _Mira_

They had found the Ayxeluriusian children not too far away in cells similar to the one she had found herself in earlier. They seemed to be okay so far, and more confused than frightened. She hoped that, due to the strange mentality of their people, they would make it out of that situation relatively okay, and without any sort of trauma.

Now they must probably be halfway through the facility, the seven children latched on to the Doctor and gathered around him, as she watched him walking over to the door the next door, but instead of opening it, he turned around to her and shot her a considering look out of his cool, blue eyes.

With his arms crossed he said, "So. It's been bugging me the whole time, but I can't figure it out. Who are you?"

She watched the Ayxeluriusian children turn their eye-stalks from the Doctor to her, waiting for an answer as well. There was not even a hint of fear about them, just friendly curiosity. Even though it was only seven of them plus the Doctor she suddenly found thirty eyes on her.

"I told you. My name's Betty. I'm from Arkon, and-"

"Stop it! That's not true, and you know it!"

Twenty-eight eye-stalks turned back to the Doctor, pretty much without them turning their heads. As he had finished, the looked at her again. It was almost as if they watched a tennis match. And they obviously had no idea what was going on, but they liked it.

Thoughts were running through her head. Chances were good that he wouldn't stop questioning her. Not until he knew what was going on. At least her version of him wouldn't let go with it. And he seemed to remember her somehow, even though that should not be possible.

Probably it was best to tell what was really going on. Maybe then he would leave it to it, and not ask her any further. The Doctor she knew would still be dying of curiosity, but at least he would understand that she could not tell him any more. And they had already met, so the damage was done anyway.

"Even if that's so," she said slowly, "I can't tell you any more."

"Why?" he asked, completely ignoring the children who were gathered around him and still looking back and forth between them.

"Because," she said and sighed. "Listen. I know you can regenerate. How many times did you do that so far?"

"How..?"

"Just tell me, please."

"Nine times. But-"

Okay, she thought, so that's him before his current regeneration. She wondered how long ago his homeworld had gotten destroyed, because to her it was quite plane to see that it had already happened. Nothing of the playfulness and the childish mischievousness she had seen in the eyes of his forth regeneration was there now. Instead he appeared to be broken, even more than he was now.

"So, let's say, we will meet each other," she carefully said. "Some time in the future. And maybe we have met already, in your past. But that was later in your timeline – I mean, in your future from now on we get back to meet you, but a much younger you. So no idea why you seem to know me, as far as I understand it you shouldn't, but then again, what do I know about time... Well. So no, I can't and won't tell you any more, and if we have to stand here to the last of all days."

"You're right, that's not possible. I should not remember you, if it is how you say. And there I thought you'd tell me the truth."

"It is the truth!"

"Well, for that to happen, I mean, a paradox like this with you being imprinted in my memories like that, we must get to know each other quite well, and that's not possible."

"Why?"

"Why would we? I certainly will never travel with anyone again. Ever. Simple as that. And I don't see why I would change that in the future. It's nothing but trouble, with them always going back home at some point and – anyway. _Who are you?_ You're not from Gallifrey, are you? How did you manage to get away?"

For a moment she was absolutely dumbstruck. But it didn't last very long.

"So, just because you can't imagine to ever make friends again, I'm lying? How can anyone be so stubborn? I mean, not that I wouldn't know by now just _how_ stubborn you can be, but seriously?" Without wanting to she had raised her voice just as he had done. A moment later she felt sorry, as it was most likely – not only – stubbornness, at least not this time. Probably more a desperate attempt to believe that not everyone was gone. What was he supposed to think anyway? Meeting someone here, of all places, who seemed familiar to him, in a way he could not quite grasp?

Suddenly their was a voice from the left side of the room. "Leave her alone. She's telling the truth. And if you continue on this way out, you'll run into a trap. Discovered it in their computer system when I was here first time, it'll blow up the whole facility. Wonder why you didn't see that now. Good grieve, where my ears really that big?"

She didn't really need to turn her head to know who was there. But she did nevertheless. The Doctor, her Doctor, was standing there, dressed in his brown coat, hands in his pockets, looking at his younger self with an evaluating glance.

"And you are?" his previous version said, eyeing him the same way in return. "Oh no. Really?"

They got a bit closer to each other, his previous self walking around his future self, followed by the children which were still gathered around him. "Seriously? And still not ginger? Great. Please tell me you're far in my future."

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean? Don't think you have to complain, with that daft old face! And, at least I have hair. Look at you! And I've got freckles. That's halfway to ginger, I might say."

They continued exchanging comments about their appearance when she got distracted by Martha who had walked over to her.

"You're all right?" Martha asked.

"Yeah. Just tell me exactly _how_ angry is he? I know I messed up."

"Quite, I think," Martha replied. "He kept on ranting about people wandering off almost the whole way. And about paradoxes and how you of all people should know. And how he'd managed to get it wrong this time. Didn't say what though." She nodded over to the previous Doctor and added, "Who is he? He said he was here before, and would run into himself. But that's-"

"That's him," she said.

"Oh no, you're kidding me. No way that's him."

"It is. He didn't tell you then, did he?"

"What did he tell me?" Martha asked.

"Maybe ask him that yourself, as soon as they're done with putting self hatred to a whole new level," she replied, looking over to the two Doctors who were still commenting on their looks, their voices, their way of talking and each others ability to evade traps.

"It was her, Betty, distracting me! Had to keep her from shooting that whole place into pieces," his ninth regeneration just said, pointing over to her.

"Oh yeah, she does that," her Doctor replied. "What, wait. Betty? She's told you that that's her name? Who's Betty?" he added, now looking over to her as well.

"Betty? She was an old friend, if that matters now. He – you seemed to remember me, so I thought it's a good idea to not give my real name," she replied.

"Yeah, but who's Betty?" his ninth regeneration wanted to know as well now.

"Seriously? I said, an old friend. She was a fellow mutant, telepath and telekinesis."

Being obsessed with – most of the times - irrelevant details seemed to be another quite persistent trait of his personality.

"I'm sorry," her Doctor said, looking at her suspiciously compassionate.

"What for?" she said irritatedly.

"You said she _was_ an old friend. So I assume she's dead?"

"What?! Nah, she's not. She's just no longer with us... Physically, at least. Anyway. Done with exchanging pleasantries? Can we go?"

She knew she was due for a telling-off, and she only want to get over with it. And as much as she wanted to spend more time with his previous regeneration, if only for the sake of him being so completely different, which would most likely help her to understand him even better, it probably was for the best to separate the two of them as fast as possible.

 **…**

Later, after they had made their way out of the facility with the children safely back with their parents, she was sitting under a large tree, leaning against its trunk, watching the setting sun casting dancing shadows through the leaves. No, she hadn't wandered off again, the Doctor, at least her version, was somewhere over there on the market-place, surrounded by Ayxeluriusians. They had latched on to him, for whatever reason, and not even he had managed to sneak away this time. Martha was there with him as well; some sort of party was going on. It was then when she heard steps in the soft grass, and when she turned her head she saw the Doctor in his ninth regeneration sitting down next to her, although a few feet away.

They sat there in silent for a while, until she finally said, "Thought you've headed off already."

"I did. But I came back, as you see."

"Yeah," she replied, her gaze fixed on the grass in front of her. She could feel his eyes on her.

"So, who are you? Really, I mean. Not that Betty-story."

She sighed, faced him again and then said, "I thought we already had that conversation. I can't tell you, and you know damn well why."

"I know. I- I guess I'm just trying to understand why. Why do I remember you? I shouldn't. And why do we travel together? And Martha as well? Can't believe that. That's not me. Not any more."

He shook his head, his eyes looking at something in the far distance.

"You know, people actually do change over time. Most will deny it, if asked. But we do. Guess you're not an exception," she replied. "And you have changed. Quite a lot, at least in some ways."

"Still, seems not like me anymore. A lot must happen until I'd change in that way. So, what is it? Not even a hint?"

"Seriously? No. Not even a hint."

"I seem to be happy," he continued after a few minutes of silence, as they were staring at the partying crowd. "Am I? Am I really happy in my future?"

She looked at him, right in his eyes, and even though they were so different from the ones of his future regeneration, she could still see _him_ in them. How much could she tell him? Were they meant to have that conversation? Was that the reason he considered travelling with someone again? Had it been Rose? Or someone else, before her?

"I'm not sure if that's the way to put it; happy... You know, you don't talk that much about yourself. But I guess you've made a good start towards being it again some day. Or, you _will make_ , from your perspective."

They sat in silence again, and, a few minutes later, she knew he was gone, even without turning her head.

* * *

 _a/n: I know, long time no post. Sorry, I had sort of a writers block, and then started to play Fallout 4, which didn't help either. But I decided to definitely go on with the 11th Doctor after the next season. And maybe a few more original stories with another companion between Donna and him regenerating again – maybe Jack? ;D Always thought the should travel together at least for a while..._

 _OneWhoReadsToMuch, heroherondaletotherescue, bored411, Natasha Strong, djmegamouth, DarknessShallSpreadXx, NeoMulder, E-man-dy-S: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_


	85. Chapter 85 - Coming Clean

**Chapter LXXXV**

 _Mira_

He had not spoken a single word on their way back to the TARDIS. The whole way she had stared at his back, racking her brain what it was now. Well, apart from the obvious. But all in all it could have gone much worse, and it had been him coming here, knowing he had been here before. Or just now, depending on the point of view. But, stomping in front of her like that, hands in pockets and breeding in silence was a tiny bit overacting on his part, wasn't it?

Once back in the TARDIS she seized the moment as he was hanging his coat over the handrail to make her way past him and down the stairs towards her room. He could give her at least fifteen or so minutes to wash her face, inspect the lump on her head and probably get some fresh clothes which weren't covered in fine, yellow hair from the Ayxeluriusians, who seemed to be even more into hugging than the Doctor. She would just like to feel a bit more human and a bit less ragged.

Actually, she wished she could stay on Ayxelurius a little longer, probably a few months or so. She had often done that, back home in her universe, just getting away of it all for a while. May it be because she had enough of politics – and the situation had been reasonably stable – or other issues. She had been hiding for a while when Atlan had come back, after vanishing for four-hundred years, accompanied by that woman, Gesil, who had finally married her father. She still wondered that all three – or four, counting Gesil who she had never liked – had not killed each other. Well, probably she had just decided it was time again to leave for a while before it had really escalated.

And even though it might look like running, she herself had never thought of it like that. Not really at least. It was more some sort of timeout, a way of clearing her head and the air, getting new perspectives, trying to get rid of whatever grudge she was holding to not leave more scolded ground. Most of the times it had been places like this, like Ayxelurius, or she had stayed with groups and organisations outside the Solar Empire, which were considered friendly, if not a part of it – a lot of them in fact quite anarchistic; but the moral high ground, at least from her point of view, definitely on their side.

But that was gone now, leaving nothing but memories which would fade with time. She wished she could say the same when it came to pain; but pain had the nasty habit to hide, only to come back with full force when one least expected it. Probably that was the only certainty left in a life that theoretically was endless, after everything else had proven to be unreliable, fading and decaying as time went on.

 **…**

After walking around the TARDIS for a while, she found herself in the observatory, sitting, legs tucked up, on the large couch, her eyes wandering over the Gallifreyan signs on the walls. Not that she wanted to evade him – if he really wanted to talk to her, he would know where to find her. She just wasn't sure if he really wanted to see her right now. Not after him hardly looking at her on their way back. So safest thing to do was to wait where he would find her – or, more so, where he knew she would be but wasn't hiding. And she indeed wasn't hiding. It was more like giving the choice of when to make a fuss about it to him. And honestly, to her it was more about making a fuss of it than anything else. Nothing bad had happened. She had recognised him in his previous regeneration and said nothing. Nothing about his past, future, nor had she tried to ignite the atmosphere of a planet, or tried to convince him to destroy Skaro. So far so good.

But then she almost jumped as the door opened, instantly feeling slightly guilty, wishing indeed she had been hiding instead of waiting for him. He didn't _look_ angry though, and she was anything but sure if she should be glad about it or not. She had seen anger and rage in his face before, and if she had thought she could read in it – at least a little bit – right now she was proven wrong.

She stood up as he walked a few steps further into the room and stopped a good seven feed away from her, staring at her. She stared back, still trying to make something out of the weird look on his face, waiting for him to speak. But as the silence became too pressing – even the everlasting humming of the TARDIS seemed to be quieter than usual – she began talking.

"I'm sorry, okay? I know... Well, actually I didn't know back then why you wanted to leave. But I should have listened, this once."

He still didn't say a word. By now she was quite certain that it really wasn't anger in his eyes. But what then? Then it hit her. For a moment it almost felt as if looking into the eyes of his previous self. The eyes of a bitter, broken, haunted man without any hope for himself and his future.

"You know, you could have been a bit clearer, to be honest," she said quietly, more for the sake of saying anything at all. "Like: Look, we have to leave, otherwise we'll run into myself, and you know, that's bad for us, the universe, and-"

"Yes, well, it would have been bad, indeed," he finally spat at her in a voice so cynical that it almost made her cringe.

"Yeah, then be a bit clearer next time!" she replied louder than she had wanted to. "Seriously, I mean... Just trust me that by now I know that you don't always look like _you_ ," she pointed at him, "And that I'll keep my mouth shut. Even more so when it's earlier in your life."

"Really? After what happened last time I'm not so sure about that."

"What?! As far as I remember I didn't say anything to your previous self. Nor did I try to convince you to do anything. It was me and me alone who tried to blow up Skaro!"

"Yeah, and that's what I'm worried about. Oh, by the way, what made you so sure he was not my future-me? You knew it, even before asking me, didn't you?"

"Well, I was not certain about that at all. You seemed to remember me faintly, but that could have been due to some paradox. You've met me earlier in your timeline, but for all I know, that happened not too long ago, and you shouldn't know of that at that point in your timeline. Or you could have just forgotten me, remembering only faintly that you've seen me ages-"

"What?" he interrupted her, furrowing his brows in surprise. "I would never forget you," he added quietly, looking at her out of huge, dark, honest eyes, making her doubt what she had seen in his face and heard in his voice just moments ago.

But it only lasted for a few seconds, before the expression on his face changed again. And yet it had thrown her completely off balance.

"How can you be so sure?" she said. "How can you be so sure you won't forget? Maybe it's just not sixteen hundred years for you, but what about ten thousand? How can you say you'll never forget me?"

"Because I don't think you have forgotten _her_ ," he replied calmly. "You just don't remember. But that's not the same."

"Oh, it isn't? Well, that's just great! Could we come back to topic now, please?" she said, rubbing her forehead with the fingers of her right hand.

"Mira, I'm worried."

"You don't need to," she said defiantly.

"No? Looked a bit different last night. That-"

"Yeah," she hurried to say so he couldn't get further into it, "I was tired, and exhausted, and yeah, well, it probably was a bit of a nervous breakdown, so-"

"Nervous breakdown? Really? Mira, do you know how much you scared me? That-"

"Yeah, please, stop it. Spare me the psychological terms. I know them all."

Indeed, it had not only left him scared. And there was no use in deny it or try to play it down. Probably their never ever was "playing down" of something in their relationship, not with being able to mentally connect as they kept on doing. He must have felt how it had scared herself, standing beside herself, watching from the outside how she was slowly losing grip with reality – yes, it had scared herself. It still did. And who knew how it had ended without him being there, not only physically holding her, but touching her mind with his presence - which had seemed so strong and eternal back then, as if nothing could ever shock or break him. And yet...

"I'm not going to lose it," she said, fully aware that it sounded more like a question than a statement. "No need to be scared. Really. And now _you're_ deflecting."

She watched him. At least this time she had managed to focus her mind on something else, on him, instead of her own issues. "Why didn't you just say _why_ we have to leave? And what's that look on your face? You're not angry that I didn't listen, are you?"

"No, I am angry because you obviously still don't understand how catastrophic this could have ended! You wanted to destroy Skaro last time, and who knows what-"

"You're not angry," she said again, still observing him, slowly shaking her head. "I don't know what the issue is, but that's not it. And, apart from that, you exactly know that I can at least vaguely imagine the possible outcomes of causing a paradox. And you most likely also know that I'd recognise you, no matter how you look. And, because of what I've just said, I almost certainly keep my mouth shut and try everything..." She trailed off as it suddenly struck her. "You knew that I would run into yourself _after_ your homeworld got destroyed. So no need to be angry because I might possibly have warned you. No. It's not about what _I_ could have told _you_. It's about what _you_ might have told _me_."

The expression on his face changed again, this time definitely to something darker, finally with a slight hint of anger.

 _Got it._

Though she'd rather been wrong.

"How do you know that.. I.. He, was after..."

"For God's sake!" she said, "Did you look at yourself back then? Just once? You know what you've said to me?"

"Mira, don't-"

"You said you look happy now," she continued. "I mean, _no_. No, you actually don't. You _seem_ to be _better_. You survived. But you're not happy. You... You're a little less broken. But not happy." The last two sentences had been little more than a whisper. "What is it that makes you so afraid I would find out? After all I've seen of you? Of who you are?"

"You wouldn't understand," he said after a long moment of silence. "Nothing of what you've seen of me would make you understand it."

"What makes you so sure about that? You know that I've done some pretty despicable things myself?" For a moment she stared at him in silence, trying to bring herself to tell him. At least to tell him enough so he would see that she would at least try to understand. "I can't even say how much innocent blood is on my hands, but it's there," she finally said, her voice shaking. "I had a hand in developing the most abominable weapon humanity had ever built till then – and even now, over a millennium later, it's unsurpassed. Guess that's a good thing though. Don't even want to imagine that," she added bitterly.

"When it all started, I was as pacifistic as anyone can be," she continued. "It was never planned to actually kill anyone with it. But then it went out of our hands. We – I – was so arrogant I believed I had it under control, that we knew what we were doing. But I was wrong. We all were. We touched something we should never have."

She paused to study his face for a reaction, but his face had become even more inscrutable. "I have done things I would have never thought possible. I've seen others doing so. And I can't be sure I won't do something at some point I would now consider absolutely impossible. I'm not even sure I would never ever help to do such a thing again. I keep on saying it wasn't worth it, nothing could ever justify it, not even the sake of our own galaxy and humanity, but I'm afraid I'm just lying to myself. I don't trust myself enough to be sure to never ever do something like that again. I did it once, so probably it's just a matter of circumstances. So I think my ability to understand goes quite far."

Still no sign or change in his expression. If anyone had ever built a wall around himself and his past, then it was him. She could almost physically feel it.

"You know, I wasn't alone back then," she added quietly. "My friends, my father, even mankind itself was there. I wasn't alone. Had I been, I'm not too sure I would still be here."

This, and she had always seen it as her very own, personal punishment to be forced to live with what she'd done. But on her own she probably wouldn't have made it to that realisation.

She waited for a moment longer, searching his eyes for some – any – sort of reaction, but there was none. At least none for her to see. He would not say anything. At least not right now, and probably it was on him now to be repelled by what she had just said to him.

But as she walked past him on her way to the door, he grabbed her wrist, slid down with his hand until he was clutching her hand with a somewhat desperate force. But before she could complain , she was overwhelmed by a rush of so many different emotions in such a short amount of time that she found it hard, nearly impossible to sort it out. They were ambivalent, conflicting, filled with uncertainty and guilt and pain. But there was no disgust, no feeling of being repelled in them, as far as she could tell. He was struggling with himself, that much she could clearly tell – but then his grip loosened and he let go of her hand. It was not until then when she finally looked up, but he had averted his head, his eyes fixed on the floor.

Was it unintentionally to let her feel all that? She doubted it. But just as certain as that was that he would not talk to her about it, at least not today, not right now. And yet, with only a short touch and that short but intense telepathic message which had told more than words could ever have, it all felt a little less hopeless.

* * *

 _a/n: I know, I wanted to post that earlier. But then I had some absolutely inhumane working hours (I'm too old for that...) and slept the whole weekend, then I got a cold the next weekend... Sorry. I just wanted to say I'm still into this story and don't think about abandoning it._

 _Storytelling-Doll, OneWhoReadsTooMuch, heroherondaletotherescue, bored411, E-man-dy-S, .54, NeoMulder, XxNimith531xX, milkymou: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_


	86. Chapter 86 - Revelations

**Chapter LXXXVI**

 _Doctor_

He hadn't felt as confused in a very long time as he wandered aimlessly through the TARDIS. If he had thought that Rose had turned everything upside down when he had first met her, then he was completely lost for words to describe what happened now.

Rose, and most of his other companions, they had always thought they did understand. And he had done nothing to correct this belief, why would he? They had meant well, and for him it had always been saver and more comfortable to not be forced to explain himself. Not like that. Not like Mira had done by offering to listen to him, even openly admitted what she had kept secret so vehemently. Not that he was any wiser now about what had happened, other than she had done something horrible, something the Beast on Kroptor had called her _the Destroyer of Stars_ for. A part of him had always known that the Beast hadn't lied about her, just as it had said the truth about himself.

And now it was bugging him what exactly she had done. Not that it would change anything. She would still be the same person, with or without him knowing. And it was not just a phrase for him, he _knew_ it truly wouldn't matter. Not after getting to know her like he had. Not after what he had seen and done in his own life.

And there it was. He could never tell her. Not even though he could very well remember how he had thought, not too long ago, that her ways had rubbed off on him. It was true, they both rather solved their issues on their own, but, in contrast to himself, she had a way of finally confronting others, of putting things on the table, even though rather other people's issues than her own.

It was then when he realised that he was not wandering that aimlessly. He was looking for Mira. She certainly didn't deserve to be left all alone right now, not after opening up to him, if only to prove that she would understand. And yes, maybe she would. Of course he had no intention to tell her, not ever, but at least he could imagine that maybe one day he would, finding a tiny bit of comfort in this thought, this idea. And he could imagine how she would not judge him, not see him as the monster he was. The murderer of his own people. Not out of an accident or anything, he had exactly known what he was doing, and it hadn't stopped him.

He finally found her in the gardens, sitting in the red grass, leaning with her back against a big tree. She was staring into space, not turning her head as he sat down next to her.

They sat there in silence for a while, and as he was almost certain she would not tell him anything, she asked, "What about the centre of Andromeda galaxy?"

"What about it?" he replied and turned his head to her, only to find her still staring into space.

"It's still there? And if so, no weird formation of stars there? Like a hexagon?"

"No.. No, no such thing. And yes, it's still there. Why wouldn't it?"

"Well, in my universe, there was a formation like that, hidden right in it's very centre. Six stars in a perfect hexagon. Forming the gate for a gigantic transmitter. Another one was in the centre of our own galaxy, linking them. They have been built over fifty-thousand years ago, by an ancient people who we call the first mankind. The ancestors of most humanoid species in our galaxy. Humans, Arkons, -"

"But you descended from apes!" he couldn't help but interrupt her. Not for a moment he had considered it could be different for her and humanity in her galaxy.

"No we didn't. Sorry to disappoint you. Well, there were humanoids on Earth for which you could say evolved from apes. But this first mankind, as they degenerated, sort of mixed with them, prehistoric men and such. But no, we did not directly descend from apes, only remotely. There are a few traces in our DNA showing that, but mainly we descended from that first mankind."

"That's not possible." He still couldn't quite believe it. She was too similar to humanity here for that to be true.

"Trust me, I've seen them, back then on Earth, and spoken to them. And yes, we travelled back in time. Anyway. Apart from obviously dwelling on Earth, their realm was huge. Spanning almost our whole galaxy, including parts of Andromeda. That's why they built those transmitters."

"What happened to them?" he asked after a moment of silence, not quite sure if she would continue, for she seemed to be lost in those memories.

"They simply overdid it; at least in our galaxy. They expanded much too fast and too far, not quite to the liking of others there. They were finally forced to retreat to Andromeda. Once there, their empire was undermined, silently destroyed and overtaken from within. It's actually a long and complex story with a lot of time travel involved. Those who took over it called themselves Master of the Isle. As in Isle of Stars, or Galaxy. They actually changed history to be able to do so. They took over Andromeda, with their reign based on pure terror. Probably that's the reason why they never really made it back to our galaxy. They were just too busy subjugating the population in Andromeda. Or maybe they weren't aware that the transmitter in our galaxy was still there and working. Who knows. I mean, normally one tries to avoid going right to the centre of a galaxy. So did we, for a long time, having no idea that it was there. Until we found it again, got stuck in its gravitational field and pulled right through it. Of course we didn't arrive in the centre of Andromeda, but a bit outside, as our transmission was unauthorized and got rerouted. Hell, their security systems were still working, after all this time. It didn't take them long to realise that we might pose a threat."

"Did you?"

"No! How could we? We certainly didn't approve with what they were doing, and yes, we would have liked to help the races of Andromeda but freeing a whole galaxy and openly opposing them? No way. At least we didn't plan it, but by merely using their transmitter and fighting our way out of their traps we got up against each other. And they remembered all too well our ancestors and their abilities. It was them, after all, who had constructed the foundations of their empire. Long story short, we had sound evidence that they were planning to invade our galaxy and wipe us out, if they couldn't force us to obey. So the only way to stop them was to destroy the transmitter in Andromeda, as there was no way to reach our galaxy with a fleet without the transmitter."

"Sound evidence?" he asked, even though he didn't doubt it had been there – or at least, back then, they had thought so. Sometimes things appeared to be quite different when looking back.

"We already were in the middle of a war with them, if that's sound enough. We wouldn't consider destroying a hexagon made up with suns, existing for over fifty-thousand years because we thought that maybe at some point they would consider-"

"Mira, I didn't say that," he interrupted her, as she had raised her voice quite a bit, defending her and the actions of her people back then.

"You should have seen it," she continued in a more quiet way again. "A whole fleet could pass through it and materialise in the other galaxy within seconds. I still sometimes try to imagine how it must have been back then when it was used for the purpose it was built for; travelling safely between our galaxy and Andromeda."

"You probably could have put it to its original use again," he suggested.

"Probably. It was not that we didn't try everything we could think of, before considering to destroy something like that. But, back then we saw no other way. And even so, it was more than unlikely we would succeed. We thought that destroying one or two of those sun would be enough to render it useless, but, apart from overcoming their defences, destroying a star is not that easy. We could do it, but it takes time, and resources, and... Well, all things we didn't have. And we needed to be fast. Forcing a star to go supernova is doable, but back then it took months and months. So we had to find another way. There already was research, but nothing even close to being ready. So Dr. Kalup and I were to work on it and find a way to destroy that thing. Mind you, I knew what we were doing, I knew it the whole time, but did I think of it as a weapon? Me, who spent quite some time on trying to understand how scientists could _ever_ work on developing weapons. Do you know Oppenheimer?"

"Yeah, met him once, great scientist, but never quite the same after..."

"Yeah. I thought I understood it. Dammit, I read everything I could get my hands on, and I swear, I thought I understood and I would never make the same mistake. And yet I just did it. Without realising it, I repeated history. We thought we were doing what had to be done, that's it. There was no alternative, nothing we hadn't tried already. Kalup was a great scientist as well, by the way. And no, he never was the same again after it. He never talked about it, not once. But I knew. He could hide it from everyone, including himself, but-"

"But not from you," he finished her sentence, and she silently shook her head. "So you did find a way to do it?" He couldn't quite believe it, even after all he had heard about humans in her universe.

"We did. As said, Kalup was a genius. But we couldn't have done it without the other. And our team. But we were to lead the project, and the major work was done by the two of us. I was still working as a scientist back then, you know. If I'd said no, we most likely hadn't been able to do it at all – not in time at least."

"But how?"

"It was called Wiezold-Effect. Don't ask. He was the guy who first wrote about it. It was based on specific particles, called hyperinmestrons. With them it is possible to convert energy into anti-energy. Just like anti-matter, but... Well, you know, don't you? It took a lot of work to really work it all out, and then we still couldn't directly use it on a sun. So we created a massive formation of energy by blowing up a ship, loaded up to the roof with fission-bombs, transformed it to anti-energy and let it collide with a star. And it worked. We tested it on remote stars without planets, three times. It worked. We ran simulations, knowing that the conditions within the centre of a galaxy are quite different from those in remote areas. There were concerns regarding the five-dimensional effects and what would happen with stars so close together in the centre of Andromeda. Their hyper-dimensional fields almost touch each other. But then again, the transmitter itself was a five-dimensional inferno every time it was used. And nothing happened. We were almost certain it would work. I don't know what I've missed."

"What happened?"

She sighed and replied, her voice hardly more than a whisper, "Don't you already know?"

He did. The only thing which could have happened. The one thing she had thought would not happen. And yet, he still couldn't quite believe it, couldn't believe they had really done it. Humans. She had been right earlier. Touching things they never should have touched. It was as brilliant – as it took a lot of knowledge and intelligence to work out such a thing - as it was stupid to even consider doing it.

"There was a chain reaction," she finally continued after he remained silent. "The one thing we had hoped would not happen, the one thing I was almost sure would not happen. It was an inferno. In the end almost every single star in a radius of about twenty light-years blew up. Even stars as far away as ten-thousand light-years showed signs of increased activity over the next months. There was a hyper-storm throughout the whole galaxy, lasting for two weeks. I don't know how many ships got lost or destroyed due to that. We ourselves hardly escaped." She paused for a moment, shaking her head slightly. And then continued, confirming his creeping suspicion that that hadn't been all. "The corner-stars of the transmitter in our galaxy started to increase their activity due to back coupling effects between them. A month later they went supernova and exploded. There were other, smaller, transmitters between Andromeda and our galaxy, which also got unstable, if only temporarily. They were all connected. But at least they didn't get destroyed."

Even though he was able to imagine what had happened before she had told him, he was left speechless – something which didn't happen too often. Humans. They had to dabble with everything, hadn't they? And yet, at the same time, he could understand them, understand her. Wasn't it just what always happened? As she had put it, repeated history. Certainly it didn't make it any better, but at the same time, it was not on him to judge her. As all these conflicting thoughts went through his mind, an image become clearer, until it was outshining everything else. Light, so bright that not even the filters in front of the lenses which projected it on a screen somewhere in a spaceship could prevent it from hurting the eyes. The world – no, the whole universe – around it was on fire, exploding, devoured by nuclear fire, and this image was accompanied by an all consuming feeling of utter horror and denial to believe what was happening. It took him a bit to realise that it wasn't him making up this image, but her remembering that moment.

Had he, just a moment ago, intended to go into a rant about stupidity of intelligent beings in general and humans in particular, telling her nothing she didn't already know, he remained silent now. Not that he had really wanted to tell all these things, but he couldn't get out of his skin after all, and this was his way of dealing with what he had just heard. But, just as much as he was enraged by such stupidity, and at least from his point of view it had been nothing but that, he felt sorry for her. There had been no right, or even less worse, option back then. One could still argue if saving her galaxy justified that amount of destruction, but it was always easy to judge from a save distance.

He had his head turned to her, and he could see how she tried to watch him out of the corner of her eye, apparently not daring to turn her head.

Still somehow lost for words, he just pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her.

* * *

 _A/n: It felt as they deserved a bit more talking-time. But next Chapter will be the next episode :-)_

 _heroherondaletotherescue, OneWhoReadsToMuch, bored411, E-man-dy-S, .54, NeoMulder, Nevermore: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_

 _Nevermore: Really? I didn't want to make it that bad, dramatic yes, but definitely not angst. At least not completely. Sure it's definitely not all happy smiling and sunshine, but I don't think I've put that much abuse, mentally or physically, or dysfunctional relationship topics or anything I would consider angst in there. :/ I'm sorry that it seems like that to you._


	87. Chapter 87 - Human Nature Pt 1

**Chapter LXXXVII**

 _Mira_

It had all started so well. Not only was there something like an unspoken, mutual agreement between her and him to just accept how things were between them, accepting each other and just treasuring it for now, as those moments were rare enough in both their lives. For once there had not even been the hint of problems, no cloud on the horizon, nothing had disturbed the calm and lazy surface of the water, and what other phrases there might be, as they had visited a tiny, nice bazaar on a far off planet, walked around a bit, but of course, it hadn't lasted.

Just as the sense of danger, followed by a wave of hostile emotions, had fallen over her, the Doctor had yelled, "Run!"

And running they were, followed by the sound of energy weapons. She had no idea who was behind them, for the Doctor had cried not to turn around, and this time she had obeyed without questioning him for a second, so urgent had it sounded.

They finally reached the TARDIS and, not a second too late, got inside.

"Get down!" the Doctor yelled, and she could feel the heat from a blast on her skin as it went over her head, just before he slammed the door shut.

"Did they see you?" he yelled as she and Martha got up again.

"I don't know," Martha replied.

"Who?" she said, turning to him. "Who saw us?"

"Never mind that now," he replied, still yelling. "Did they see you?"

"Well, most likely as they were behind us and shooting, but-" she said, but he cut her short.

"It's important. Did they see your face?" he insisted.

"No, they couldn't have," Martha replied as she was still trying to work it out.

"No, most likely they didn't, depending on-"

How long they were following them, she had wanted to complete her sentence, but he jumped past her to the console.

"Off we go!" he said and the TARDIS started to dematerialise. Moments later there was a bleeping sound and he looked frantically at the screen"Argh! They're following us!"

"How can they do that?" Martha asked. "You've got a time machine."

"Stolen technology," he replied. "They've got a Time Agent's vortex manipulator. They can follow us wherever we go, right across the universe." His voice was hardly more than a whisper, as if realising something absolutely terrible. "They're never going to stop, unless... I'll have to do it."

"Do what?" she asked. "What is a vortex manipulator, and, who in bloody hell ARE THEY?"

Something about his behaviour made her absolutely mad. She felt that she would explode if he would not stop with- Yes, what was it? He wasn't panicking, but what else was it then? It was not that she could feel his emotions, but something of the state he was currently in was definitely getting at her, and it was certainly not only caused by merely watching him jumping around the console like mad.

There was this strange kind of connection, something she had not felt before with anyone else. Not quite empathy, more superficial than that, and yet deeper at the same time.

"Later," he said, stepped over to her and took her by the shoulders. "Mira, do you trust me?"

He looked her deeply in the eyes, and something in his voice almost made her shiver.

"Generally, yes, I guess," she said, quite confused, watching a big frown forming on his forehead. "Unless I get the feeling you're about to do something royally stupid, at least being so from my point of view, and-"

"Me? Stupid? Nah, never," he said and placed a big kiss on her forehead, relief written all over his face. Then he let go of her and turned to Martha. "Do you trust me? And don't you dare to be so relative about it as Mira!"

"Of course I do," Martha replied, confusion written all over her face.

"Because it all depends on the two of you," he said, dead serious now.

"Would you just stop speaking in riddles please?" she replied.

He pulled an ornately decorated, golden fob watch out of his pockets and held it under her nose.

"Take this watch," he said, took her right hand and closed it around the watch, "Because my life depends on it. This watch, Mira. The watch is me."

She weighed it in her hands, traced the engraved ornaments with her fingertips. Gallifreyan writing, wasn't it? It felt strangely warm and was heavier than it looked.

"A fob watch?" she said, digging through her mind, feeling there was something about it, knowing she had had a conversation about that topic, not too- "A fob watch? Seriously?" Suddenly she remembered. He had asked her if she had ever possessed one. But why? "How can this watch be you?"

He didn't directly reply to her question, but started to explain instead. "Those creatures are hunters. They can sniff out anyone, and me being a Time Lord, well, I'm unique. They can track me down across the whole of time and space."

"But you said they use stolen technology. So they are inferior to you, at least from a technology point of view?" she asked.

"Sure they are," he said casually before getting serious again. "They can smell me, they haven't seen me. And their life span'll be running out, so we hide. Wait for them to die."

"Wait for them to die? They hunt you, they're after you. So why don't face them and fight them instead of waiting? Waiting for how long exactly?" she said.

"Oh Mira," he replied softly, "One and a half millennium old and still so little patience? It won't be long, I promise."

She could feel Martha's gaze on her, feel her astonishment, her disbelief. Well, now that was out as well.

"But they can track us down," Martha finally said, recovering from the surprise.

"That's why I've got to do it. I have to stop being a Time Lord. I'm going to become human," he said whilst pulling a headset down from the ceiling. "Never thought I'd use this. All the times I've wondered."

"What does it do?" she wanted to know.

"Chameleon Arch. Rewrites my biology," he explained. "Literally changes every single cell in my body. I've set it to human."

He took the watch back from her and put it into the headset.

"Everything I am now will be in this watch. You have to take good care of it, because when it's lost..."

She watched back and forth between him and the watch as realisation hit her.

"You're fucking kidding me, aren't you?"

"Excuse me?" he had stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her.

"You've asked me if I've ever possessed a fob watch. Do you remember? Shortly after we've met. You thought I was only pretending to be human? Is that it? Am I right?"

"Oh no. No! I didn't think you were _pretending_. You would've been _convinced_ you are human."

"But... Why?"

"Oh Mira, not now please," he replied and turned to the console, pressing buttons. "Now, the Tardis will take care of everything. Invent a life story for me, find me a setting and integrate me. Can't do the same for you. You'll just have to improvise. I should have just enough residual awareness to let you in. But I'm certain you will be fine, both of you. Mira, take care of Martha, will you?"

She could only nod. Not that she held a grudge because of the fob watch story, but it had been a slight shock nevertheless. And now this. She really wasn't into his plan about hiding.

"But, hold on," Martha said, "If you're going to rewrite every single cell, isn't it going to hurt?"

"Oh, yeah. It hurts," he said and pulled the headset over his head. The next minutes all she could do was watching him crying out in pain.

 **…**

She entered his room, the tray Martha had given her balancing in her hands. Martha had taken on a function as a housemaid, whereas she herself was the Doctor's – or, as he was called now, Mr Smith's – personal secretary and assistant, as well as doing paperwork for the school whenever her time permitted it.

As she saw that he was still lying on his bed, dressed in his pyjamas, she turned around quickly, putting the tray on a small table.

"Pardon me, Mr Smith, I can come back later if you want."

He stood up, put on a dressing gown and replied, "No, it's all right, it's all right. I was er. Sorry, sorry. Sometimes I have these extraordinary dreams."

She turned around again, her eyes locked on him. Seeing him like that filled her with a mixture of fascination and sheer horror. It was as he had said – he was human now. Completely and utterly human, as human as anyone could be. He even smelled differently, as she noticed every time he went past her. His emotions, his whole personality now lay in front of her like an open book. As it was with any other human. And, frankly, the TARDIS had not chosen the most interesting of all personalities for him. Sure, it was for the best, but it – he – was so average. Somehow empty and average, apart from the dreams he was having. He was reading a lot and had some lively fantasy, but apart from that, nothing of his fiery personality was left. The dreams though worried her more than anything else. His old self was coming through as he slept, memories he should not have right now. How long could he stay like this? Would his true self take over at some point? She only wished there had been more time for him to answer her questions.

And, above all, it hurt her to see him like this. She knew he did not like it. It was not that he hated humans and for this didn't hate to be one; he just didn't _want_ to be one. And, at the same time, he seemed so completely carefree and untouched by any dark events of his past, because there simply weren't any in the life the TARDIS had made up for him. He seemed to be content, at peace with himself, for the first time since who knew when.

She watched how he started to furrow his brows, suddenly realising she was staring at him for way too long.

"What about, sir?" she asked. "Those dreams, what were they about this time?"

"I dream I'm this adventurer. This daredevil, a madman. The Doctor, I'm called. And last night I dreamt that you were there, as my companion."

A madman? Certainly something to remind him about when all this is over, she thought, with a tiny hint of amusement.

"A teacher and his secretary sir? That's impossible," she replied softly.

"I'm a man from another world, though."

"Another world?" she asked cautiously, straightening her dark grey skirt with her hands. "There is no such thing. It's only a dream, nothing more."

"This thing. The watch is," he replied, walking over to the mantelpiece, picking up the watch, weighing it in his hand for a moment, before putting it back, seemingly deeply in thoughts. "Ah, it's funny how dreams slip away. But I do remember one thing; it all took place in the future. In the Year of Our Lord two thousand and seven."

"Well, that's the thing with dreams, isn't it?" she said, still observing him, hoping he would really take it as a dream, nothing more. "We wake up and think we'll never forget them. But then, just as the day gets brighter, they vanish into the shadows of our memories."

She immediately regretted having said something like that, as she saw the surprised look on his face.

"Anyway," she hurried to say, "I can prove that wrong, sir. I brought the morning paper. November tenth, nineteen thirteen, and you, I think you're completely human, sir. As human as anyone can be."

"Mmm, that's me," he replied quietly, opening the newspaper. "Completely human."

* * *

 _Martha_

She was scrubbing the floor on her hands and knees, dressed in a black housemaids dress, complete with white hood and apron. How in hell had she ended up like this? Well, of course she knew, but why had the TARDIS given the role as a housemaid to her? Mira was his secretary and at least dressed in an elegant if a bit old-maidish grey skirt that was so long it touched the floor, a grey blouse, and, judging from the looks of it, a rather uncomfortable corset. And she was definitely not scrubbing the floor on hands and knees.

Mira wasn't really fifteen hundred years old, was she? Surely, the Doctor had been joking. She knew that Mira was older than she appeared to be, but not _that_ much older. Fifteen hundred years. Fifteen hundred years ago had been the year five hundred, the very start of the middle ages in Europe. She could simply not imagine to live from then all the way to her current time, the year twenty seven.

She looked up as she heard footsteps passing by. It was him, wearing the long gown every teacher around here was wearing.

"Morning, sir," she said and smiled at him.

"Yes, hi," he said absent mindedly, going up the stairs.

"Head in the clouds, that one," Jenny said, who was scrubbing the floor with her. "Don't know why you're so sweet on him."

"He's just kind to me, that's all," she replied. "Not everyone's that considerate, what with me being-" she started, but wasn't sure how to finish, remembering Mira's talk about being careful what to say and not letting slip anything.

"A Londoner?" Jenny asked.

"Exactly. Good old London town."

Just then two of the older pupils stopped. She had seem them before, and didn't like them too much for they were quite arrogant.

"Er, now then, you two. You're not paid to have fun, are you? Put a little backbone into it," one of them said.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," Jenny replied.

"You there, what's your name again?" the other one asked, addressing her.

"Martha, sir. Martha Jones," she replied.

"Tell me then, Jones. With hands like those, how can you tell when something's clean?" Before she could reply anything they walked away, laughing.

"That's very funny, sir," she murmured.

"Careful, now. Don't answer back," Jenny said, and, as to support her, she could feel eyes on her, and as she looked up, she saw Mira standing across the room, having watched the scene, now slightly shaking her head at her, asking her to be quiet as well.

"I'd answer back with my bucket over his head," she whispered wilfully to Jenny.

"Oh, I wish," Jenny replied. "Just think, though. In a few years time, boys like that'll be running the country."

"Nineteen thirteen," she said thoughtfully, knowing exactly that the first world war was about to come. "They might not."

* * *

 _Mira_

She was just on her way to his rooms to bring him some papers he had forgotten in the classroom, as she heard a loud bang as if something – or someone – was falling down the stairs. She hurried around the corner only to find the Doctor – Mr Smith – lying on the floor, rubbing his head.

"Oh my God," she said and hurried over to him. "You're alright? Wait, don't move," she added as he started to try to get up again. "Have you broken anything?"

She looked at him intently, but he seemed to be alright – apart from his head and his hurt pride. He was not in great pain, and only slightly shocked. A moment later a woman was at her side, also tending to him. She had seen her before, it was the school's nurse, wasn't it?

"I'm fine," he finally said, looking back and forth between the two women. "Just hit my head, but – ouch!" he yelled as he touched the back of his head.

Together they helped him up and lead him to his room, where the nurse sat him down on a chair. Then she hurried off and was back a few moments later with her big bag full of bandages and stuff.

Then she started to tend to the lump on his head, but it didn't prove to be too easy with him shifting and trying to get away from her hands, in between telling her weird stories from his dreams. Oh, she wished he would only stop telling each and every one about them. Quite the opposite of keeping their heads down.

"Stop it," the nurse finally said. "I get boys causing less fuss than this."

"Because it hurts," he replied indignant.

Just then the door flew open, Martha bursting in. "Is he all right?" she asked.

"He's fine," she replied, "it's only-"

"Excuse me, Martha," the nurse interrupted her. "It's hardly good form to enter a master's study without knocking."

"Sorry. Right. Yeah," Martha replied, went back to the door, knocking on it. "But is he all right? They said you fell down the stairs, Sir," she added.

"No, it was just a tumble, that's all," the Doctor replied.

"Have you checked for concussion?" Martha addressed the nurse.

"I have," the nurse replied. "And I dare say I know a lot more about it than you."

"Sorry," Martha said and she was more than glad that Martha wasn't in for confronting that nurse. "I'll just tidy your things."

"I was just telling Nurse Redfern, Matron, about my dreams," the Doctor said. "They are quite remarkable tales. I keep imagining that I'm someone else, and that I'm hiding."

 _Yeah, Redfern, that was her name._

"Hiding? In what way?" Redfern asked.

"They're almost every night," the Doctor said. "This is going to sound silly."

Martha had left the room again, and Redfern was throwing a glance over to her, leaving no room for interpretation that she wanted her gone as well.

"Never mind me, I guess I know all of them. He's having them for a long time now," she replied casually, making no move to leave the room.

"Tell me then," Redfern said to him.

"I dream, quite often, that I have two hearts," the Doctor said, and she wished she could just shush him.

"Well, then. I can be the judge of that. Let's find out," Redfern replied, holding her stethoscope to listen to his heartbeat.

Now that was enough, she decided. She had to listen, but certainly not to look. She noticed the short, surprised wave of emotion coming from him as she shut the door to his room from outside. There she waited, listening not only with her ears to what was going on in there. If he would just leave that woman alone. Redfern was fond of him, and he seemed to discover just the same feeling in himself. She was more annoyed than anything else about that fact. She knew it wasn't him, not the Doctor she knew who grew fond of that grey wallflower of a nurse. Well, that was really not fair, she thought. Redfern had a gentle and humble character, no need to be mean to her. But it would definitely complicate things more than she liked.

Finally, she heard Redfern walking towards the door, and she hurried to get away from it, out of her line of sight. As she finally walked out, she hurried after her, having overheard that he gave her his journal.

"How is he?" she asked, and then, as if totally by coincidence, she nodded at the book Redfern was holding. "Oh, that's his book? He will go search for it, so better-"

"Oh, I'll look after it." Redfern replied. "Don't worry. He did say I could read it."

"It's just stories, weird things, I guess I could write a book myself about them by now-"

"Mira, isn't it? His secretary?" Redfern interrupted her. "Who is he?"

"Sorry?" she replied, trying to look as confused as possible. "You know who he is, Mr Smith-"

"No, I don't mean his name," Redfern replied. "Who is he? It's like he's left the kettle on. Like he knows he has something to get back to, but he can't remember what."

"Well, that's him. Always a bit preoccupied."

"You work for him for a long time now? It's quite unusual for someone in his position to have his own secretary," Redfern said.

"Oh, I'm not only doing _his_ paperwork. And yes, I'm working for him for quite a few years now. I- My father was his former Mentor. And..." So the time had finally come to make up something, so she continued, "As my father fell ill, and for I had always helped out him and my father with their paperwork, he asked him to look out for me, even more so that my husband had died a few weeks earlier, and-"

"I am sorry to hear that, I really am," Redfern said, taking her hands for a short moment. "I know how hard it is to lose a husband. But even though he was close to your father, you should never forget that you work for him. You seem to be a bit too familiar with him at times."

 _Oh, so we're down to that level now?_

"Well, it seems we're in the same boat then," she said in her most kindest voice and smiled at Redfern. "You, the school's nurse, and I, a secretary."

* * *

 _Martha_

She was sitting on a table next to Mira, just outside the pub, where it was cold and dark, two pints in front of them. It it was for her they would sit inside, but Mira had said that that wasn't going to happen.

"Ooo, it's freezing out here," she said for probably the sixth time. "Why can't we have a drink inside the pub?"

"Because we can't, Martha. It's not right at this time for us to sit in the pub. It's just not going to happen. It's more than enough for us to be here. We should be in our rooms instead and behave. Like it or not, that's how it is," Mira replied, elbows on the table, face in her hands, her eyes staring into the darkness.

"Oh, how revolutionary it would be to just go inside and show them," she replied sarcastically and grabbed her pint, pretending to get up.

"Martha, don't. We're not here to start a social revolution, so not one more word about that, got it?" Mira told her. "Dammit, we just have to keep our heads down. Have you any idea how hard it is to not swear for the whole day? If I had my way, I would tell them all off and you could have slapped that guy with the bucket. After emptying it – right over his head. But we really have to be careful."

Despite the feeling of utter annoyance which was filling her, she had to smile. Yes, Mira was indeed swearing an awful lot. And she would really like to see that nurse hearing it, all taken aback and being shocked.

"Fine," she sighed, "We stay out in the cold then." She shot a sideways glance to Mira, her curiosity taking over. She had never really been alone with Mira like that, and somehow there was a chatty mood between them. "Say, what did the Doctor mean by saying you live for one and a half millennium now and still have no patience? You're not really fifteen hundred years old, are you?"

"No," Mira replied, taking a sip.

"Ah, well, would have really been old then-"

"It's rather sixteen hundred," Mira added after putting the pint down again.

"What?!" was all she could say, and her head flung round to Mira, who was still staring into the darkness.

Sure, she had understood perfectly well what Mira had just said, but she had a hard time comprehending it. Strangely enough though, it was reassuring, sort of. Mira must have seen a lot of things, even weirder stuff than she herself had since travelling with the Doctor, so she could rely on her to get them through this, even though the Doctor wasn't quite himself right now. And yet, she still tried to find some frame of reference for a lifetime of sixteen hundred years.

"The Roman Empire!" she heard herself say out loud, immediately regretting it.

"What's with it?" Mira asked and finally turned her head as well so that they were looking into each other's eyes now.

"All in all, it lasted for about fifteen hundred years, didn't it?"

"Yeah, well. The eastern one, they weren't that successful in the west, were they? At least in my universe," Mira replied.

"So you could have witnessed all of it? It's rise and fall...," she said, now totally excited about that – or maybe it was just the situation, here in nineteen thirteen, feeling a bit lost with the Doctor not being himself, and sitting here out in the dark that added to it all feeling rather surreal.

"The rise and fall of an Empire, eh?" Mira said and laughed quietly. "It was not the Roman Empire though, and not so much the rise but the prime and the fall of the Solar Empire, but yes. Weird when something that seemed so huge, so... permanent suddenly isn't there any more. Well, not that suddenly of course, but at some point you look back and think, what the hell happened?" Mira sighed again, spinning what little was left in her pint. "I have to warn you though; I can be horribly melancholic. There's probably not a single old-people cliche I'm not guilty of. You know, back in the old days... When everything was better. The grass was greener and so on." She gave Martha a lob-sided grin, and she couldn't help herself but smile as well. Oh well, Mira seemed to have a good sense of humour, not taking herself too seriously and they would get along somehow.

"Ah, here you are!" Jenny's voice came out of the dark. "Freezing out in the dark." She sat down next to her.

"Yeah, I already said that," she replied. "But we can't go inside. Would want to, though."

"Now don't be ridiculous," Jenny replied. "You do get these notions! It's all very well, those Suffragettes. but that's London. That's miles away."

"But don't you just want to scream sometimes, having to bow and scrape and behave. Don't you just want to tell them?" she said, feeling Mira nudging her.

"I don't know. Things must be different in your country," Jenny said.

"Yeah, well they are. Thank God I'm not staying," she replied.

"You keep saying that," Jenny said.

"Just you wait. One more month and I'm as free as the wind. I wish you could come with me, Jenny. You'd love it."

"Where are you going to go?"

"Anywhere. Mira and I actually," she replied. "Just look up there. Imagine you could go all the way out to the stars."

"You don't half say mad things," Jenny said.

"Think she had a bit too much to drink," Mira whispered, but loud enough for Jenny to hear.

Ignoring Mira, she continued, "That's where I'm going. Into the sky, all the way out."

Then she saw something flashing in the sky in a weird, greenish hue. She felt Mira sitting up straight next to her, so she had seen it as well.

"Did you see that?" she asked Jenny.

"See what?"

"Did you see it, though? Right up there, just for a second."

"Martha, there's nothing there," Jenny said.

Then a figure broke through the bushes, and she saw it was nurse Redfern.

"Matron, are you all right?" she said, standing up now.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Mira was also standing up now and had taken a few steps away from their little group, searching the sky.

"Did you see that?" Redfern asked. "There was something in the woods. This light."

Then, as if it hadn't been enough chaos, the Doctor stepped out of the pub.

"Anything wrong, ladies?" he asked. "Far too cold to be standing around in the dark, don't you."

"There, there. Look in the sky," Redfern said and pointed up.

And indeed, there was the light again, sliding through the sky with a tail like a comet.

"Oh, that's beautiful," Jenny said, seeing it now herself.

"All gone," the Doctor said. "Commonly known as a meteorite. It's just rocks falling to the ground, that's all."

"It came down in the woods," Redfern said.

"No, no, no. No, they always look close, when actually they're miles off," the Doctor explained. "Nothing left but a cinder. Now, I should escort you back to the school. Ladies?"

"No, we're fine, thanks," she hurried to say.

Meteorite? Certainly not. It was clear that she and Mira had to go investigate.

"Then I shall bid you goodnight," he said and left, followed by Redfern.

"Jenny, where was that?" she asked. "On the horizon, where the light was headed."

"That's by Cooper's Field," Jenny replied. "Listen, it's cold and late. I'll head off as well."

"Night Jenny," she said and watched her disappear.

"That was definitely no Meteorite," Mira said eventually. "Looked more like a landing spaceship to me."

"A spaceship? Really?" she replied, feeling quite uncomfortable now. "Let's check it out, should we?"

* * *

 _E-man-dy-S, MiaEther, heroherondaletotherescue, bored411, OneWhoReadsToMuch: Thanks for reviewing :-)_


	88. Chapter 88 - Human Nature Pt 2

**Chapter LXXXVIII**

 _Doctor_

Mira was in his room, putting some papers on the desk, saying, "You have to go through them before the weekend. That's yesterday's test, we need the grades next week."

He watched as she divided the rather large stash of paper into smaller heaps, her back turned towards him. The morning light streamed through the window, making her hair glow and her skin look soft. What a beautiful neck she had he thought, and how nicely the loose knot of hair high on her head emphasised it. Fine, short and wavy strands of hair had escaped all around her neck and face. Why had he never noticed it? He knew her for such a long time, and never...

And there it struck him again. It was weird. He tried to remember scenes like this, just as he had done before, but he couldn't. Was his memory really that bad? No. He was a a teacher and more than firm with the knowledge his profession required. But it seemed that he could not remember many details of his live before he had come here. Had it always been like this? Probably. And, after all, he could remember where he was born, his parents, their occupation, where he had gone to school, all these things. Maybe it was now all a bit blurred due to hitting his head yesterday.

Oh, and he had dreamed about her tonight. Well, not only about her, but she had been with him on these strange adventures; and it had been a quite _intense_ dream. Nothing he would tell her – or anyone else for that matter. It hadn't been so much the dream itself or the images which were quite disturbing – it was this feeling of connectedness he had felt, connectedness with her, which had been so intense that it had almost hurt him. But, strangely enough, not hurt in a bad way, not at all. But, just as with his other dreams, this one was now fading quickly after he had woken up.

Mira turned around, her bright, grey eyes looking directly back at him. He could never quite tell what was going on behind this inscrutable eyes of hers. It was weird. _She_ was weird. Even though she was wearing the same hair-do as Joan and equally greyish clothes, if more elegant then the ones Joan was wearing, Mira looked so much more youthful and alive. And yet at the same time there was something heavy around her, an aura of sadness. He almost felt a bit intimidated in her presence, even though there was no reason for feeling that way for him. She was a woman, and younger than him, so why would he feel that way? She was a mystery to him, and he wasn't sure at all that he liked riddles and mysteries when it came to people.

Joan on the contrary seemed to be so straightforward and honest. He would always know where he stood with her. She had such a warm, humble and simple way.

"Is there something else you need?" Mira asked.

"Oh... Oh, no, thank you. I think that's it." he stuttered, realising he was staring at her.

And why for God's sake was he comparing Joan and Mira now, he thought as he watched her leaving the room.

* * *

 _Martha_

The last night had been rather sleepless for her after they had walked over to that field where the green light seemed to have come down. She hadn't seen anything, but Mira had told her that there was a spaceship, hidden by a deflective field or something like that. When she had asked her how she could possibly know, Mira had replied she could sense the presence of the aliens who were after the Doctor. That, together with the strange light could only mean they had arrived here in some sort of vessel. Mira had refused to search for their ship because it wouldn't do them any good. But she had also said that the aliens seemed to be confused, uncertain, so it was not sure at all they had discovered the Doctor in his human form yet.

They had agreed to meet at the TARDIS today, giving Mira some time to find out more. She herself had kept her ears and eyes open as well, but she was lacking the additional sense that would make it so easy for Mira to recognise the aliens, even if they were hiding somewhere out of sight.

She arrived before Mira and opened the door.

"Hello," she said when she stepped in, and then added a bit more quietly, "I'm talking to a machine"

Then she started the recording the Doctor had made. She just had no idea when he had done it.

"This working?" he said, looking at her from the screen. "Mira, Martha, before I change, here's a list of instructions for when I'm human. One, don't let me hurt anyone. We can't have that, but you know what humans are like. Two, don't worry about the Tardis. I'll put it on emergency power so they can't detect it. Just let it hide away. Four. No, wait a minute, three. No getting involved in big historical events. Four, you two. Don't let me abandon you. And fi-"

She turned the button to fast forward it. There must be the part when they got discovered. Then she heard the door, and her head flung around. But it was only Mira, and she nodded at her as she continued to listen.

"And twenty three. If anything goes wrong, if they find us, Martha, then you know what to do. Open the watch. Everything I am is kept safe in there. Now, I've put a perception filter on it so the human me won't think anything of it. To him, it's just a watch. But don't open it unless you have to. Because once it's open, then the Family will be able to find me. It's all down to you, Martha. Your choice. Oh, and thank you."

"I wish he'd come back," she whispered. "What's with the aliens now and everything..."

"Yeah, I never liked this plan anyway," Mira said next to her. "But they didn't discover us yet, so don't you open that watch now."

"You're sure about that?" she asked sceptically.

"Pretty sure," Mira replied. "They're not at the school yet. There's still a chance they might leave again, thinking they were wrong."

"But-"

"Martha, as said, I absolutely disagree with his plan, and if it's for me I would open that watch right now. But he thought that's the best way, and he trusts us with this. If we open the watch now, he would have gone through all this for nothing."

She looked at Mira, knowing deep down inside that she was right, even though she didn't like it. He trusted them, and she would not disappoint him.

"Say," she asked, just to change the topic, "When did he record that? He certainly didn't before he changed. I mean, you were there, you watched him."

"I have no idea. But it's never good to rely on the progression of cause to effect with him. Who knows when he's going to record that one," Mira replied with a big sigh.

* * *

 _Mira_

Later that day, back at the school, and after the shocking discovery that one of the aliens had made it to the school in shape of Baines, she almost bumped into a young boy, coming from the Doctor's room. It wouldn't have been that remarkable at all hadn't she seen a glimpse of a golden fob watch he quickly tried to put it in his pocket. _The_ golden fob watch.

"Sorry miss," he said and tried to get past her, his dark eyes turned to the floor.

He was a slender, shy looking boy she hadn't seen before. But then again, there where quite a lot boys at this school.

"No worries," she said, "But where did you get that watch-" Then she noticed it. This little shy boy, now looking at her with a hint of fear in his eyes, was a telepath. He didn't seem to really be aware of what he was doing, but he had definitely tried to reach out for her. And now he had most likely just noticed that he didn't get anything from here because she had instinctively blocked her mind. Then what was he doing with the watch? Why had he picked it up? He didn't seem to be a common thief, not after what she could see of his personality. Did he know? He was genuinely and in the most innocent way confused, that was for sure. Was he immune to the perception filter, just as she herself was? She had touched the watch occasionally, when the Doctor wasn't watching, and she could feel that he was alive in there. So had he touched it and then couldn't help himself but pick it up for the sake of curiosity?

"No, don't be afraid," she hurried to say as the boy took a slow step backwards. "What's your name?"

"Latimer. Tim Latimer, Miss."

"Okay, Latimer," she repeated.

 _Don't be afraid,_ she thought, focusing on him, lowering her mental barriers.

She wasn't sure it would work, but at least he didn't look as if he was about to run away any moment. And by now she had made up her mind.

"You keep that watch save, do you hear me?" she told him without any further explanation. "It's important. And don't open it! Let us meet outside in the garden in an hour. Behind the school by the trees is a bench."

"I have to be at the shooting range then," he replied.

"Okay, after that then. And remember, you must not give the watch to anyone!"

He just nodded, and to everyone else it might have seemed as if he didn't have the slightest intention to be at their meeting place later. But she could feel he had indeed understood.

She looked after him as he hurried away. Whatever had made him go for that watched, she hoped it would be for the best. The aliens where here, somehow they had managed to take on human form. But they hadn't found him yet. They were still searching. And right now that watch was saver with the little telepath than lying around in the Doctor's room where it could be easily found. The boy would know to stay away from them once he had sensed that they weren't human. And he should appear unsuspicious enough to them. Unlike herself, she remembered all to well that she had been identified once as non-human by the Judoon and their scanners.

* * *

 _Doctor_

He was out at the shooting range, watching the boys practising with a machine gun. Mira seemed to be done with her duties for today and stood a few steps aside, watching with a strange, distant look in her eyes, making her seem older than she was.

The young Latimer was feeding the ammunition belt for Hutchinson, but he seemed to be a bit clumsy.

"Concentrate!" he said to him and then added, "Hutchinson, excellent work."

"Cease fire!" the Headmaster, Mr Rocastle, commanded and stepped closer.

"Good day to you, Headmaster," he said.

"Your crew's on fine form today, Mister Smith."

"Excuse me, Headmaster," Hutchinson said, "We could do a lot better. Latimer's being deliberately shoddy."

"I'm trying my best!" the little boy tried to defend himself.

"You need to be better than the best," Rocastle told him. "Those targets are tribesmen from the dark continent."

"That's exactly the problem, sir," the boy replied. "They only have spears."

"Oh, dear me," the Headmaster sighed. "Latimer takes it upon himself to make us realise how wrong we all are. I hope, Latimer, that one day you may have a just and proper war in which to prove yourself."

"A voice of reason," Mira said, hardly audible but the Headmaster had heart it, as his head flung around.

"Pardon me? Miss Mira Rhodan, is that right?"

"Yes sir. And I said he might well be a voice of reason. Apart from that, one should be careful what one wishes for. It might come true."

"And what does a woman now about war and fighting?" the Headmaster asked indignantly.

He watched how Mira and the Headmaster stared at each other in silence for a long moment, and he couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated again. And even the Headmaster seem to shrink slightly under her look.

"My apologies, sir," she finally said. "It's not on me to judge men's business."

Rocastle nodded at her, then turned around to the boys, "Cease fire!"

"Stoppage. Immediate action," Hutchinson said and turned to the Headmaster. "Didn't I tell you, sir? This stupid boy is useless. Permission to give Latimer a beating, sir."

"It's your class, Mister Smith," Rocastle said after a moment of consideration.

He was about to to agree with that, but then caught Mira's look, making him suddenly feel as if caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"No," he said, "No, let's give him another chance tomorrow. I think they're done for today."

"But-" Hutchinson started.

"You heart Mister Smith," the Headmaster said, whilst Latimer hurried to get back to the school.

A sniff next to him made him turn his head. The boy Baines was standing there, looking at him.

"Anything the matter, Baines?"

"I thought... No, sir. Nothing, sir," Baines replied and left.

He looked after him. Was there a cold going round? He watched Mira walk away as well, and decided to follow her.

"You should not oppose the Headmaster in such a way," he said when he reached her.

"Oh?" She turned to him. "I know, there's a lot of things I shouldn't say and do."

"Mira, I vouched for you when he gave you this job."

"I know, and I'm sorry," she replied, and he could here hardly restrained anger in her voice. "He's making those boys train for war. Little Latimer, most of all. He, and others who are like him, could do so much good if they wouldn't force him to be something he's not! Apart from that, there never comes anything good out of a war, ever!"

"Well, yes, Latimer is a bit soft, but he will learn discipline in time, and-"

"Discipline? You mean military drill. And yes, he is soft, but that's exactly what this world is lacking. Intelligent, sensible and compassionate people like him. People who'd refuse to kill in an absolutely unfair fight."

He stared at her in surprise. He hadn't expected that. Had she always seemed so controlled, and now there was barely restrained anger in her voice and her eyes gleaming at him. Was it really about a war which might never come? There was no sign for it anywhere, it was as peaceful a time as it could be. Or was it about Latimer? Why did she feel so sorry for him? She had no children, at least not that he could remember. Had she ever lost a child? Did the boy remind her of someone?

"I- I'm sorry," he said, in lack for better words. "I didn't want to upset you. Just never mention that to anyone else, will you?"

Instead of replying, she just looked at him. Well, it seemed as if it was an agreeing look.

"What I wanted to ask," he added, just to help them both out of this awkward situation, "Do you go to the village dance? There must be quite some men asking you, am I right?"

"Why, no," she replied. "Apart from that, I can't dance. Not much point going to a dance then, is there? You'll excuse me, I have things to do."

With that said she hurried away, leaving him rather dumbfounded.

* * *

 _Mira_

Indeed, Latimer was sitting on the bench behind the school. The watch was gleaming in the sunlight as he hold it in his hands. She sat down next to him

"I can hear him," the boy said without looking up. "He's in there, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"But who is he?" Now Latimer looked up, his dark eyes on her. "What is a Time Lord? He's not human, is he?"

"No, Latimer, he isn't."

"But you are?" And, as she nodded, he added, "And you're like me?"

"Not quite," she replied. "I'm an empath. I can't read someone else's thoughts like you. Just their emotions. I can only read minds with another telepath, like you are."

"A telepath?" he asked. "So that's what I am? Never thought about it like this. It's just – sometimes I know things. I hear other people even when they're not talking. But not always."

"It could get stronger over time, or just stay like it is. Either way, don't be afraid to use it to your advantage. You're a good person, I'm sure you'll do the right thing with it. But don't tell others. They won't believe you anyway. And if they do, they won't understand."

"No, I'm in enough trouble most of the times anyway," he replied. "Oh, thanks for saving me the beating, Miss."

"You're welcome, though I didn't do that much. And you can call me Mira. So, did he tell you anything?"

"Is he a good person?" he asked instead of answering her question.

She considered a moment what to answer. "He's the most honest liar I've ever met," she finally said with a grin.

He looked at her for a moment, a frown on his face, then it seemed to dawn on him and he smiled shyly.

"He said I should keep him away from the false and empty man," he said. "It's- It's Baines? What's wrong with him?"

"He's one of them I'm afraid. They are looking for him. He's hiding because he didn't want to fight them. They will die soon anyway."

"Why? Why doesn't he want to fight? Is he afraid of them?"

"No, why, he's-"

And then, as she remembered what Latimer had said earlier, it dawned on her, making her feel incredibly stupid. Stupid and embarrassed.

 _They only have spears._

"He just chose not to, I guess," she said quietly, realising that she might have lost perspective. It was not always about the big wars; sometimes it was just about a few people. "Keep the watch save, I'm afraid that after all his plan is not working out as he'd have liked it. I'm not sure if they know that I'm... not from here, so I think it's saver with you. If I need it, if he needs to come back, I'll let you know."

Then, at once with Latimer, she turned her head. There they were. And it was not only Baines now. Mr Clark and a little girl with a red balloon accompanied him. They all sniffed deeply.

 _Stay away from them. They are dangerous_ , she told Latimer, who, with a determined look on his young, gentle face, ran off.

 **...**

The next day she went to the TARDIS. Martha had told her earlier she had to talk to her urgently, and well, she sort of had to talk to Martha as well. Letting her in on her plan, or, rather, the Doctor's plan and him asking Latimer to keep him hidden. And to warn her that the aliens were already in the school.

Martha was already there when she entered, watching the recording again.

"Four. You. Don't let me abandon you," the Doctor said.

"That's no good. What about the stuff you didn't tell me?" Martha mumbled. "What about women? Oh no, you didn't think of that. What in hell am I supposed to do then? You had to, didn't you? You had to go and fall in love with a human, and it wasn't me."

"What it is?" she asked alarmed and walked over to Martha, who startled as if she hadn't heard her coming.

"It's that Joan-woman. That nurse. He kissed her!" Martha yelled, and she could feel her embarrassment about what she had just said, believing she was alone in the TARDIS.

"He did what? You're sure?" she asked as the information sunk in. He had done _what_? Oh that was just great. So much for don't let him hurt anyone. He was not in love with her, was he? Not really. Maybe his human self, but not _him_. Oh, she just had been too occupied with the aliens the last days and hadn't really paid attention to his emotions. But why that nurse? And how was it possible in that little time to fall in love with someone? Well, then again, a kiss could mean nothing.

"Yes! I came into his room, and there they were, sitting on the couch, like teenagers, and-"

"Martha-"

"Oh how can he do such a thing? That nurse of all people?"

"Martha, I'm afraid we have more pressing problems," she tried it again.

"But he didn't tell us what to do! He-"

"Martha! He did tell us to not let him hurt someone. Well, maybe we couldn't keep him from doing so. Once he's his old self again, he'll leave and she will stay here. She'll be hurt, but she'll get over it, she's a grown up woman, she-"

"But if he doesn't leave her behind? What if-"

"Martha, stop it!" she said, being fed up with this topic already. "There's no way he will still love her once he's a Time Lord again."

Suddenly Martha looked at her as if she had just been slapped.

"Why? Because she's human?" Martha asked.

"Martha, not now please," she said, not wanting to think about that too much herself. "The aliens are at the school. They took on the form of humans, don't ask me how. Don't think they've found him yet."

"What!? We have to bring him back then!"

"No," she said, probably a bit to harshly. "He said not yet. We should keep him hidden."

"And how did he do that when he's still in this watch?" Martha wanted to know.

"Martha, please believe me, he did. I'm sorry, but the less you know right now, the better. With those aliens sniffing around we can't have too many people knowing. The only thing I can tell you is that I can still hear him in his watch and he asked to keep him hidden, and that's what he wanted to do from the very beginning."

* * *

 _Martha_

To say she was torn would be an understatement. On one side, she knew it was best to trust Mira, sticking to the Doctor's original plan, but on the other side she was just absolutely hurt and unsure about all of it. Why did he have to kiss that nurse? And why would he never love a human once he was a Time Lord again? So there was no chance for the two of them, not ever? And then, if the aliens were already so close, wasn't it best to let him out of this watch? What good could he do as a human to defend himself? Yes, he had wanted to hide, but obviously it hadn't worked out.

So she tried to go on as if nothing had happened, just as Mira had asked her to do, and poured a cup of tea, when Jenny came into their room.

"There you are. Come and look what I've got," she said to her and pointed at the tray with the small cake on it. "Mister Poole didn't want his afternoon tea so Cook said I could have it. And there's enough for two. What are you standing there for?"

Jenny sniffed deeply. Weird, she thought, was there a cold going round?

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"I must have a cold coming on," Jenny replied and sat down with her.

"The problem is, I keep thinking about them, but I don't know what to do," she said, if only for the sake of saying something. And Jenny had always proven a good partner for idle conversation. Only that it wasn't that idle this time.

"Thinking about who?" Jenny asked.

"Mister Smith and Matron. Because it's never going to last. He's going to leave in a few weeks."

"Why?"

"It's like his contract comes to an end. And she's going to be heartbroken."

"Leave for where?" Jenny asked.

"All sorts of places. I wish I could tell you, Jenny, but it's complicated."

"In what way?"

"I just can't," she replied and looked at Jenny.

She seemed weird, a bit absent. Something was not quite right. She wasn't her usual, bubbly self.

"It sounds so interesting. Tell me. Tell me now," Jenny insisted in a monotonous voice.

"Would you like some tea?" she said instead of replying.

"Yes, thanks."

She looked up again. Did she even listen?

"I could put a nice bit of gravy in the pot," she said. "And some mutton. Or sardines and jam. How about that?"

"I like the sound of that," Jenny replied flatly.

All right. Something was absolutely wrong here. But... No, she couldn't be one of those aliens, could she?

"Right," she said and got up. "Hold on a tick."

She went to the door, halfway expecting Jenny to leap at her, but she managed to get outside, closing the door. Then she started to run, leaving the building, thinking to whom to turn to. Mira or the Doctor? The Doctor, she decided in an instance. She would let him out. Obviously they had found out anyway.

Then a ray of green energy hardly missed her, fired from the window of her room.

Not much later she reached his room and threw the door open.

"They've found us!" she yelled, and then saw that, of course, that nurse was with him.

"This is ridiculous," she said to Martha.

"Martha, I've warned you," the Doctor said.

"They've found us, and I've seen them," she continued, ignoring the nurse. "They look like people, like us, like normal. I'm sorry, but you've got to open the watch. Where is it?"

She turned to the mantelpiece, but there was no watch. For a moment she felt as if her heart had stopped and her whole body became cold with shock.

"Oh, my God," she breathed. "Where's it gone? Where's the watch?"

"What are you talking about?" the Doctor asked.

"You had a watch. A fob watch. Right there," she said and pointed at the mantelpiece.

"Did I? I don't remember," he replied.

"I can't see what concern it is of yours," Joan said coldly.

"But we need it," she cried. "Oh, my God, Doctor, we're hiding from aliens, and they've got Jenny and they've possessed her or copied her or something, and you've got to tell me, where's the watch?"

"Martha," she heard a warning voice from the door. Mira, what was she doing here?

"Oh, I see. Cultural differences," the Doctor said. "It must be so confusing for you. Martha, this is what we call a story," he continued, speaking as if she was more than slightly retarded.

"Oh you complete-," she said. "This is not you. This is nineteen thirteen."

"Martha, stop it," Mira said. "I think she has a headache, so would you come with me now, please?"

"Good," he Doctor said, "This is nineteen thirteen. And there are no aliens here, it is only a story."

She stared at him for a moment. What else could she do to convince him? And where was this dammed watch? "I've sorry. I'm really sorry, but I've got to snap you out of this," said, walked over to him and slapped him hard across the face.

"Martha!" Mira and Joan yelled together.

"Wake up!," she said desperately, ignoring them both. "You're coming back to the Tardis with me."

"How dare, how dare you," the Doctor yelled. "I'm not going anywhere with an insane servant. Martha, you are dismissed. You will leave these premises immediately." He grabbed her at the arm and shoved her over to the door. "Now get out!"

She heard the door slam shut behind her, and, still raging, she started to run off. She had to find the watch somewhere, without it he would never be himself again.

She heard Mira yell behind her, but she didn't care. Only when Mira grabbed her sleeve she stopped and turned.

"WHAT?" she yelled.

"The watch is save."

"What?!"

"It's save. It's with Latimer. He-"

"Tim? Tim Latimer?" she interrupted Mira. What had that boy to do with it?

"Yes. He's a telepath. He can hear him, even though he's inside the watch. He's save with him."

"But why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't. Did they find him? Do they know who he is?" Mira asked.

"Yes!" she said. Well, that was not really completely true, but close.

"Martha, that's a lie."

"I- Dammit. I think so. Jenny, she's... Oh God, did they kill her? Is she dead?"

"Martha I- I'm afraid so. Martha, listen. Now is not the time to panic. Don't try to bring him back by slapping him or telling him things. That won't work. What he is, his true self, is in the watch. Nothing in this universe can bring him back without opening it. Just... Just try to act normal."

"But we have to do something! We can't just sit around and-"

"We will. I'll let Latimer know, and then... I guess it depends what the Doctor tells Latimer to do, and if and when they discover what's going on."

* * *

 _Mira_

They were outside the village hall. She knew that the aliens were on their way as well, and she had also _spoken_ with Latimer – he had claimed that the Doctor had told him to continue hiding him.

So they could do nothing but wait and watch for now – and try to not escalate anything. Which would be quite a task, regarding the state Martha was in. She was in love with the Doctor – nothing new to her, but she had not quite realised how deeply. Still, even after all she knew about him, it was almost frightening to her what loyalty, and yes, even love, he could inspire in others. And, in Martha's stead, she would probably have acted just like her. But she had learned over time to put her personal feelings aside. She would have to deal with it later though, that was for sure.

She was moving through the crowed now, and, just as she had told Martha, was watching out for Mr Clarke, Baines, that little girl and Jenny, trying to figure out what they were up to. She hadn't seen Martha in a while, and as she watched out for her, she saw her on Joan's table. The Doctor was nowhere to be seen.

 _Oh no._

She walked over to the table, hearing Martha's last sentence.

"Yes, you do," Martha just said to Joan, "I don't mean to be rude, but the awful thing is it doesn't even matter what you think. But you're nice. And you're lucky. And I just wanted to say sorry for what I'm about to do."

"Martha," she whispered sharply, just as the Doctor returned.

"Oh, now really, Martha?" he said. "This is getting out of hand. I must insist that you leave."

Before she could do anything, Martha pulled the Sonic Screwdriver out of her pocket and hold it up for the Doctor clear to see. She tried to snatch it out of Martha's hand, but she hold it out of her reach. The Doctor had seen it anyway by now. And there she had thought Martha had understood her.

"Do you know what this is?" Martha asked. "Name it. Go on, name it."

"John, what is that silly thing? John?" Joan asked, but the Doctor just wordlessly stared at it, finally taking it from Martha's hand.

"You're not John Smith," Martha said. "You're called the Doctor. The man in your journal, he's real. He's you."

"Martha, no!" she yelled, but it was too late. Well, it had been too late five minutes ago once Martha had started to talk to Joan, when her only choice had been to cause a scene by dragging Martha away and draw the alien's attention, or do nothing and let Martha draw their attention.

"There will be silence! All of you!" Mr Clark yelled.

And indeed, the whole room fell silence. The only noise was that of a scarecrow entering the room.

Oh hell, a scarecrow, she thought. So they're not limited to humans or even living beings. As soon as the crowed saw the scarecrow there were sounds of fear.

"I said, silence!" Clark yelled again.

"Mister Clarke, what's going on?" Mr Chambers said, but it didn't do him any good. He got vaporised by one of their guns.

"Forget everything Martha just said," she whispered to the Doctor. "She's finally lost it, _Mr Smith_."

"We asked for silence!" Baines said. "Now then, we have a few questions for Mister Smith."

"No, better than that," the girl, still holding onto the balloon, said. "The teacher. He's the Doctor. I heard them talking."

"You took human form," Baines said and sniffed at him.

"Of course I'm human," the Doctor replied. "I was born human, as were you, Baines. And Jenny, and you, Mister Clark. What is going on? This is madness!"

"Ooo, and a human brain, too," Baines added. "Simple, thick and dull."

"But he's no good like this," Jenny realised.

"We need a Time Lord," Clark added.

"Easily done," Baines said and stepped forward, raising his ray gun. "Change back."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the Doctor said, with a fear she had never heard in his voice before.

"Change back!" Baines said.

"I literally do not know-"

Just then Jenny grabbed Martha, holding a gun to her head.

"She's your friend, isn't she?" Jenny said. "Doesn't this scare you enough to change back?"

"I don't know what you mean!" the Doctor cried.

"Wait a minute," Jenny said. "The maid told me about Smith and the Matron. That woman, there."

"Then let's have you," Clark said and hold a gun to Joan's head.

"Have you enjoyed it, Doctor, being human?" Baines asked. "Has it taught you wonderful things? Are you better, richer, wiser? Then let's see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Maid or matron? Your friend or your lover? Your choice."

* * *

 _OneWhoReadsToMuch, Cosmic Angst, bored411, E-man-dy-S, heroherondaletotherescue, GhostlySights, .54, oXxgeorgiaxXo, Jayla Fira Gal, canadduh, frosty600, StoryGirlWrites: Thank you for reviewing :-)_


	89. Chapter 89 - The Family of Blood Pt 1

**Chapter LXXXIX**

 _Mira_

Thoughts were racing through her head, but none of them seemed to provide a way out. She could not get her hands on their weapons and she herself was unarmed. With a weapon she would probably be able to take out Jenny or Clark. But she could only take out one of them, which would mean either Martha or Joan would die. Not that one of them would die anyway from the looks of it; but she would not make that decision; not force a decision when there still might be another way out of it. But where?

They hadn't figured out on their own that Mr Smith _actually_ was the Doctor. So there was no way for them to tell if it was him or not, other than Martha claiming it. Could she then offer herself instead? Tell them it was actually her, and she had used Mr Smith only as a distraction, to keep them off her back? One thing was certain, she could cause enough confusion so Martha could get away, hopefully with the Doctor. Then they would be after her, but as she couldn't change back, for she was as human as anyone could be, she would make up some story to keep them busy. Then all her hopes would lay on Martha, Latimer, and finally the Doctor. At least right now as things were - with the Doctor human and almost paralysed by fear - it would be better if they were after her, not him.

"Make your decision, Mister Smith," Jenny said, her gun still pointing at Martha's head.

"Perhaps if that human heart breaks, the Time Lord will emerge," Baines added.

 _Well then, just like in – not so – old days._

Only this time she had not the backup of any of her old friends, instead she had to rely on Martha, a young boy and the Doctor who would be of no real use whilst being human. Suicide in other words.

"That's enough," she said and stepped forward whilst lowering her mental barriers again, hoping Latimer would get a glimpse of her plan. "If anyone in here gets so much as a scratch, I'll never change back."

Baines turned his head around, staring at her. Time, just a little more time was all she needed. And the guns off Martha's and the Nurse's heads.

"I know you weren't the brightest candle on the cake, for all your stolen technology," she continued, sensing Baines confusion. "But I didn't expect you to be _that_ dumb. I mean, really? You think he's a Time Lord? Look at him! He's so scared he can hardly move."

Baines sniffed at her and finally said, "But you're human."

"Oh, really? Yeah. I knew you could sniff me – a quite disgusting habit by the way – so I had to hide somehow. And it almost worked out. But enough is enough. You let them go, all of them, or you'll never get what you came for."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Baines asked.

"Seriously? How'd you think I know all that? You're aliens, you don't belong on this planet and in this time as less as I do," she replied, arms crossed, watching Baines with her head slightly tilted backwards. "And you're hiding your spaceship on a field quite close. Behind a deflective shield."

"Then prove it," he said with a nasty smile. "Change back. Now. Or those stupid humans will die."

"I would, if I could," she said lightly. "But I can't. It's not that easy, you know? I need my ship for that."

"Well then, lets go!" Baines said, waving his gun at her.

"I don't know where it is," she replied in the same light tone. "Made me forget it. Precautionary measure. It'll come back when the time is right," she added, pointing at her head.

"Maybe killing them will help your memory," he replied.

"It won't. Kill any of them and I will not change back."

"That's a lie."

"Is it?"

Baines didn't say anything. For a long moment he only stared at her whilst she tried to figure out what he was about to do. He was so alien and she wasn't quite sure what to make out of the cold and so foreign emotions which flooded her mind. Did he believe her? Did he refrain from killing anyone in here? He did not care about anyone in here at all, but he also was not a sadist, that much she thought she could tell – though he seemed to get a certain kind of pleasure out if this.

Then, finally, the distraction she had begged for came. It took her a moment to realise what it was, but then she knew. It was _him_ , his Time Lord self. Latimer. Had he opened the watch? But then-

"It's him!" Bait said, tilting his head.

In that moment of distraction Martha managed to get the gun off Jenny, using her as a shield. Well done Martha, she thought, she just hoped she would not shoot. Maybe the people those aliens had possessed weren't dead yet.

"All right! One more move and I shoot!" Martha yelled.

"Oh, the maid is full of fire," Baines said.

"And you can shut up!" Martha replied, and she could see how she bent her finger.

But, thankfully, she only fired into the ceiling.

"Careful, Son of Mine," Clark said to Baines. "This is all for you so that you can live forever."

"Shoot you down," Baines said, his weapon pointing at Martha.

"Try it. We'll die together," Martha replied.

"Would you really pull the trigger? Looks too scared," Baines said with a teasing voice.

"Scared and holding a gun's a good combination. Do you want to risk it?" Martha said.

"I should warn you," she said, pointing at Martha, "She tends to lose it when she's scared like that. Wouldn't be the first time. Actually, the third time – at least."

Finally, they reluctantly lowered their guns.

She watched them carefully, thinking how nice it would be to have one of their guns. But asking them to give her one would definitely take things a bit far.

"Everyone out of here!" she yelled, her eyes on Martha who was still holding Jenny. They undoubtedly would fight back the moment Martha let go of her. "Hurry," she added as she saw the confused people hardly moving. "There's a door at the side. Mr Smith, go on, get them out! I know you can, you helped me before! Move!"

Finally the crowd started to move towards the doors, not without the help of Joan. And then, at last, the Doctor shook off his frozen state and helped her. Then, as the hall was empty apart from herself, him, Joan, Martha and the aliens, he hesitated.

"Get out!" she yelled at him.

"What about you and Martha?"

"Just move! Get Joan back to safety, you can't leave her here, can you?" she said even though by now it really hurt her seeing – and feeling – how font he was of that nurse, and it became harder and harder to remind herself that it was not _him_. Was it? When he changed back, would he remember his feelings?

 _Not now!_

Finally he was out with Joan, and with a long stride she was next to Martha who could not hold Jenny any longer.

"Give me the gun," she whispered as they were facing all four members of that weird family. The scarecrow, where was it? And who was it? It seemed to be less intelligent than the other four and apart from that she could hardly sense it, leaving her unsure if it even was _alive_. Even the positronic-biological robots with their living plasma in her universe seemed to be more alive to her.

"Don't try anything," Martha said to them, ignoring her completely. "I'm warning you, or Sonny boy gets it."

"She's almost brave, this one," Baines said. "But we don't need her. The Doctor comes with us and we search for this ship of yours."

"Good luck with that. I said I can't remember where it is. It could be anywhere – any _when,_ " she replied, backing away with Martha as the aliens approached. She held out her hand as a silent prompt to hand over the gun.

"What happened to Jenny? Is she gone?" Martha asked, not letting go of the weapon.

"She is consumed. Her body's mine," Jenny replied nastily. Maybe she should reconsider them not being sadists, she thought.

"You mean she's dead," Martha said.

"Yes. And she went with precious little dignity. All that screaming," Jenny replied.

Well, they definitely were incredibly stupid, for it was more than clear that Martha was just trying to figure out what she herself had thought earlier. Making sure if Jenny was really dead before killing her body. Suddenly something was rustling behind her, followed by a smell of wet straw, then Martha was grabbed and the next second the scarecrow had the gun.

So much for the gun, she thought and grabbed Martha by the hand, pulling her over to the door and out of the hall.

 **...**

Outside the Doctor was still standing there with Joan.

"Don't just stand there, move!" Martha yelled at him, "God, you're rubbish as a human. Come on!"

"Martha, you have to find Tim, and get the watch!" she said to Martha as they were running towards the school. "I'll go back to them and keep them distracted."

"They'll kill you," Martha replied.

"No, not unless they figure out I've lied to them," she replied, being everything but certain they hadn't already.

"You're not going back to them, Mira," the Doctor fell in. "What is all this about? All this talk about aliens and-"

"Never mind," she said, hoping he would accept it.

"But what do they want from me? And why-"

"Never mind, I said," she replied, throwing open the door to the school. "Just stay away from them. And do what I say, I just try to protect you. I'll explain everything later, just trust me!"

He didn't reply, just shot her a long look and she could feel that he was full of mixed emotions. He slammed the door behind them, saying, "Anyway, you're not going out there again," grabbed a bell and started to ring it.

"What are you doing?" Martha asked.

"Maybe one man can't fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together. Take arms! Take arms!" he said.

"What? That's madness," she replied, trying to grab his arm. "We're not going to fight them. They have a bloody spaceship, we have to get them away from here!"

"She's right, you can't do that!" Martha fell in.

"You wanted me to fight, don't you?" the Doctor replied. "Take arms! Take arms!" he yelled.

"I say sir, what's the matter?" Hutchinson, who happened to be first to arrive, asked.

"Enemy at the door, Hutchinson," the Doctor replied. "Enemy at the door. Take arms!"

 **...**

"We can't fight them here!" She had no idea how many times she had already said it, watching how the guns were handed out to the boys. "They have energy weapons. And a spaceship!"

"Redfern, maintain position over the stable yard. Faster now. That's it," the Doctor said to Joan, ignoring her.

"They're just boys," Martha fell in. "You can't ask them to fight. They don't stand a chance."

"They're cadets, Miss Jones," he replied. "They are trained to defend the King and all his citizens and properties."

"What in thunder's name is this?" the Headmaster barked as he rushed through the door, looking at the chaos. "Before I devise an excellent and endless series of punishments for each and every one of you, could someone explain very simply and immediately exactly what is going on?"

"Headmaster, I have to report the school is under attack," the Doctor said.

"Really? Is that so? Perhaps you and I should have a word in private."

"No, I promise you, sir," the Doctor replied. "I was in the village with Matron. It's Baines, sir. Jeremy Baines and Mister Clark from Oakham Farm. They've gone mad, sir. They've got guns. They've already murdered people in the village. I saw it happen."

"Matron, is that so?"

"I'm afraid it's true, sir," Joan confirmed.

"Murder on our own soil?"

"I saw it. Yes."

"Perhaps you did well then, Mister Smith," the Headmaster said. "What makes you thing the danger's coming here?"

"Well, sir, they said"

"Baines threatened Mister Smith, sir," Joan added. "Said he'd follow him. We don't know why."

"Very well. You boys, remain on guard. Mister Snell, telephone for the police. Mister Philips, with me. We shall investigate."

"I wouldn't go out there, Mister Rocastle," she said.

"Mister Smith, it seems your secretary is giving me advice. You will control her, sir," he said and headed for the door.

Ignoring him she followed the Headmaster and Mr Phillips outside with a little distance, trying to stay in the shadows.

"So," the Headmaster said as he approached the aliens. "Baines and one of the cleaning staff. There's always a woman involved. Am I to gather that some practical joke has got out of hand?"

"Headmaster, sir. Good evening, sir. Come to give me a caning, sir? Would you like that, sir?" Baines mocked him.

"Keep a civil tongue, boy," the Headmaster said calmly.

"Now come on, everyone. I suspect alcohol has played its part in this," Phillips tried to de-escalate as well. "Let's all just calm down. And who are these friends of yours, Baines, in fancy dress?" he added, pointing at the scarecrows behind the aliens.

"Do you like them, Mister Philips?" Baines asked. "I made them myself. I'm ever so good at science, sir. Look." He pulled off the arm of one scarecrow and continued, "Molecular fringe animation fashioned in the shape of straw men. My own private army, sir. It's ever so good, sir."

"Baines, step apart from this company and come inside with me," the Headmaster said.

"No, sir," Baines declined. "You, sir, you will send us Mister John Smith. That woman is already standing behind you, as I can see. Then we can figure out which is the right one. That's all we want, sir, Mister John Smith and that woman and whatever they've done with the Time Lord consciousness. Then we'd be very happy to leave you alone."

"You won't get him," she said and stepped forward, slightly ahead of the Headmaster and Phillips, feeling relatively secure. They wouldn't shoot her until they were certain she was not the Time Lord.

"Go back inside, woman," the Headmaster said with an angry voice, before he addressed Baines again. "You speak with someone else's voice, Baines. Who might that be?"

"We are the Family of Blood," Baines said.

"Mister Smith said there had been deaths," the Headmaster wanted to know.

"Yes, sir. And they were good, sir."

"Well, I warn you, the school is armed," the Headmaster said, making her head fling around to him.

 _Armed? Seriously?_

"All your little tin soldiers," Baines said, seemingly thinking the same. "But tell me, sir, will they thank you?"

"I don't understand," the Headmaster replied.

"What do you know of history, sir? What do you know of next year?" Baines asked.

"Don't, Baines. Just leave it," she tried to stop him.

"You're not making sense, Baines," the Headmaster said, completely ignoring her.

"1914, sir," Baines said. "Because the Family has travelled far and wide looking for Mister Smith and, oh, the things we have seen. War is coming. In foreign fields, war of the whole wide world, with all your boys falling down in the mud. Do you think they will thank the man who taught them it was glorious?"

"Don't you forget, boy, I've been a soldier," the Headmaster replied. "I was in South Africa. I used my dead mates for sandbags. I fought with the butt of my rifle when the bullets ran out, and I would go back there tomorrow for King and Country!"

"Doesn't make it any more glorious," she said silently, earning an indignant look from the Headmaster.

"Et cetera, et cetera," Baines said and, without any further warning, shot Mr Phillips. "Run along, Headmaster. Run back to school. And send us Mister Smith!"

"You don't need him!" she yelled, trying to convince them to leave the school alone. "I am coming with you, if that's what you want!"

"Oh, we don't believe you," Baines said, closing in on her. "We want you both. Now go inside and find Mr Smith."

He pointed his weapon at her, leaving not much room for interpretation. He most likely had figured out that she was bluffing. And she hastily followed the Headmaster. Where was Latimer? She hadn't heard from him in a while, and the last thought she had gotten from him had been filled with doubt.

* * *

 _Martha_

She had watched in horror how Mr Phillips got murdered and now she rushed over where the Doctor, Mira and the Headmaster were standing.

"Mister Philips has been murdered, Mister Smith. Can you tell me why?" the Headmaster wanted to know.

"Honestly, sir, I have no idea," the Doctor replied. "And the telephone line's been disconnected. We are on our own."

"If we have to make a fight of it, then make a fight we shall," the Headmaster said. "Hutchinson, we'll build a barricade within the courtyards. Fortify the entrances, build our defences. Gentlemen, in the name of the King, we shall stand against them."

"That's madness," Mira whispered to her. "They can't hold the school against them. And I'm afraid my plan failed; they still want _him_."

"So what now?" she asked.

"Find Latimer. He has the watch. Then we have to bring the Doctor away from here, best somewhere close to the TARDIS and make him change back."

"Finally," she said, unable to help the slight sarcastic tone in her voice. Well, Mira's plan hadn't been that bad, she had to admit that, but if it had been for her, the Doctor would be his old self for quite some time now. "I thought you can find Latimer? Sort of detect him?"

"Yes, well, he seems to be evading me. Either him or the Doctor in the watch, I don't know. Find him. I'll try to keep Mr Smith out of trouble. He's a great teacher, but definitely not a soldier."

 **...**

She had ran into Joan who, as there had been no way to keep her out of it, was following her. Now they were searching the school for Latimer, but if he really was hiding, she would never find him.

"So why do we need this watch?" Joan asked again.

"I know it sounds mad," she replied, deciding that it was of no use to keep anything secret any more, "But when the Doctor became human, he took the alien part of himself and he stored it inside the watch. It's not really a watch, it just looks like a watch. And now Latimer has it."

"And alien means not from abroad, I take it," Joan said.

"The man you call John Smith, he was born on another world."

"A different species."

"Yeah."

"Then tell me. In this fairy tale, who are you?"

"Just a friend. I'm not- I mean, you haven't got a rival, as much as I might. Just his friend."

"And Mira?"

"Well, if I only knew. She was already with him when I met him. I asked her if there- well, if they'd been together once, but she said no."

"Why did she say it's her they're after?" Joan asked. "They could have killed her."

"Yeah, I guess... She wanted to protect him."

"And you're human, I take it? Both of you?"

"Human. Don't worry. And more than that, I just don't follow him around. I'm training to be a doctor. Not an alien doctor, a proper doctor. A doctor of medicine."

"Well that certainly is nonsense. Women might train to be doctors, but hardly a skivvy and hardly one of your colour."

Her head flung around to Joan. Seriously? "Oh, do you think? Bones of the hand. Carpal bones, proximal row. Scaphoid, lunate, triquetal, pisiform. Distal row. Trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate. Then the metacarpal bones extending in three distinct phalanges. Proximal, middle, distal."

"You read that in a book."

"Yes," she said in frustration and disbelief. "To pass my exams. Can't you see this is true?"

"I must go," Joan said suddenly.

"If we find Latimer with that watch, then we can stop them!"

"Those boys are going to fight. I might not be a doctor, but I'm still their nurse. They need me," Joan said and went off.

* * *

 _Mira_

She watched how the school prepared to fight back. It was so ridiculous. They really thought they could stop those aliens with bags of sand and machine guns? And barricading the doors with wooden bars? As if that could stop their energy weapons. She went out to the courtyard, watching the Headmaster issuing commands at the boys who hurried to get ammunition and machine guns.

 _Children_.

She went back inside, only to find Martha and Joan at the Doctor's side. Martha slightly shook her head at her, and she couldn't blame her – it was easy for someone to hide in this chaos, even more so if they knew the grounds. And, above all, even she was unable to locate him. Probably due to the emotional turmoil around her, but she was also still convinced something was blocking him out.

"You're with Armitage and Thwaites," the Doctor just said to some boys. "They know the drill. Joan, it's not safe," he added as he spotted Joan.

"I'm doing my duty, just as much as you. Fine evening we've had together," Joan replied.

"Not quite as planned," he confirmed sheepishly.

"Tell me about Nottingham," Joan said.

"Sorry?"

"That's where you were brought up. Tell me about it."

Martha must have convinced her. Or at least, almost. She could feel that Joan was suddenly quite suspicious, her beliefs shaken. She was testing him.

"Well, it lies on the River Leen," he replied reluctantly, confusion and fear in his voice. "Its southern boundary following the course of the River Trent which flows from Stoke to the Humber."

"That sounds like an encyclopaedia. Where did you live?" Joan asked.

"Broadmoor Street. Adjacent to Hotley Terrace in the district of Radford Parade."

"But more that facts. When you were a child, where did you play? All those secret little places, the dens and hideaways that only a child knows? Tell me, John. Please tell me," Joan insisted. "And what about Mira? What about her husband and her father, your mentor?"

"What is with them? I- I..."

"They both died, and you promised her father to care for her," Joan said.

"No, that- Mira, you've not been married, have you?"

"Actually, I have. But not like that," she said quietly. "I made it up. Don't look at me like that, Joan. I was married, and I am a widow. But it was- a long time ago. And my father is still alive and has never met Mister Smith. I had to make it up because the TARDIS didn't. She did not fill in all those gaps, all those little details. So when Joan wanted to know more, I had to come up with something."

"But- That's my life! I can't remember your father or your late husband. You're lying. That's almost forty years I can remember, and how can you say it's all made up?"

"That's not your life! You're not that person," she replied. "The real you has over nine hundred years of memories - though I'm still not quite convinced you didn't lie to me about your age. I think it's a bit more than nine hundred-"

"Nine hundred?" Martha breathed next to her.

Probably even more, she thought. At least he had made his fourth regeneration almost three hundred years younger.

"Joan, are you convinced now?" she addressed Joan. "He did all this to hide. I was against this plan from the very beginning, but here we are and-"

"How can you think that I'm not real?" the Doctor asked, and then turned to Joan. "When I kissed you, was that a lie?"

"No, it wasn't. No," Joan replied, her eyes cast to the floor.

"But this Doctor sounds like some, some romantic lost prince," he said. "Would you rather that? Am I not enough?"

If he would only stop. But she could feel it, at least this human, looking like the Doctor, was in love with Joan. And slowly but surely she was at a point where she could hardly stand it any longer.

"No, that's not true. Never," Joan replied.

"I've got to go," he said.

"Mira was right about one thing, though," Joan said. "Those boys, they're children. John Smith wouldn't want them to fight, never mind the Doctor. The John Smith I was getting to know, he knows it's wrong, doesn't he?"

"Mister Smith, if you please!" the Headmaster yelled.

"What choice do I have?" the Doctor said and then kissed Joan.

Unable to watch any longer she went out to the courtyard, knowing that he was following.

 **...**

 _Tim Latimer was sitting in a corner, hiding, the watch in his hands. He had seen a lot – too much - about this man who called himself the Doctor. He was dark, dark and dangerous. But then again – what had Mira said? He had_ chosen not _to fight them? Why?_

" _What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?" he repeated quietly._

 _Surely he should try to contact Mira, but was he really doing the right thing? Could he trust her? Could he trust_ him _? He knew they were looking for him. Martha as well as those aliens._

" _Beware," the voices suddenly whispered._

" _Beware of what?"_

" _Her!"_

 _He looked up. There was the little girl with the red balloon._

" _Keep away," he said._

" _Who are you?"_

" _I saw you at the dance. You were with that family. You're one of them."_

" _What are you hiding?" she asked._

" _Nothing."_

" _What have you got there?"_

" _Nothing."_

" _Show me, little boy."_

" _I reckon whatever you are, you're still in the shape of a girl. How strong is she, do you think? Does she really want to see this?"_

 _He opened the watch and golden energy raced towards her. Not only she could see it but he as well. And, despite the images of rage and violence, he now knew what to do._

 **...**

She knew the Doctor was following close behind her, and as she turned around, she saw he had a gun in his hands. Really?

"What in hell do you think you're doing?" she said, standing in front of him, forcing him to stop as well.

"I have to defend the school. Mira, you go inside now, this is no place for a woman, so-"

"Oh shut up! You give me that gun, now!"

"Mira, go inside, or-"

"Okay, one last try. Give me the gun. Now. I won't let you shoot anyone. Because if you do, I either have to live with you blaming me for not stopping you for the rest of your life, or, which is more likely and much worse, I have to live with you blaming yourself for the rest of your life for killing someone. So you give me that gun, now!"

"Mira, what are you talking about? We're under attack, so I'm not giving you that gun. You go inside, it's too dangerous out here."

She watched him up and down. He was human now, and not overly trained, just an average human male. Hopefully he really was _completely_ human, and did not still possess his Time Lord strength or reflexes. Sure, even an average human male would always be stronger than her, but it was not always about strength. She would be faster and had much more experience - centuries of practising multiple kinds of self-defence techniques.

"Fine," she said and took a step forward as if to walk past him and go back inside. But instead she quickly grabbed for the gun and before he could quite realise it she had turned around his arm, winding it out of his grip.

"Ow!" he yelled after jumping back, staring at her in shock.

"Sorry," she replied. "But I can't let that happen. So you either go inside or if you have to be outside, stay behind me. And please, stay out of the line of fire."

"Why are you doing that?" he asked, confusion written all over his face. "Who are you?"

"I just try to protect you," she sighed. "And you're really not making it easy."

She turned around again, walking towards the barriers and the boys behind their machine guns, waiting for the scarecrows to attack.

* * *

 _OneWhoReadsToMuch, E-man-dy-S, bored411, StoryGirlWrites, oXxgeorgiaxXo, maithilijoshi54: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_


	90. Chapter 90 - The Family of Blood Pt 2

**Chapter XC**

 _Doctor_

He stood behind Mira, who herself waited behind the barriers the boys had build, rubbing his shoulder, equally confused and scared. He couldn't explain how Mira had managed to fling the gun out of his hands with a strength he had never expected from her. He knew he should take the gun back and send her inside, but something was stopping him. Anyway, now it was too late. Someone was hammering angrily at the main gate.

"Stand to!" the Headmaster shouted, "At post!"

And everyone – except for him – was taking aim.

"Remember," Mira said calmly, her voice hardly raised and yet he was certain that everyone – probably even the Headmaster – was listening to her. "They're only made of straw. You'll kill no-one."

The gate shook violently under heavy blows and finally flung open. Then the scarecrows marched in. His eyes wandered over the boys – children – and for a moment something inside himself seemed to realise what was going on. A glimpse, a memory, a flash of something he could not understand, had crossed his mind. It was gone as the firing started, pulling him out of his thoughts and a moment later he had all but forgotten about it – and what was left seemed nothing more than an illusion, brought on by that surrealistic moment.

Finally, after what had seemed like an eternity, the firing ceased as all of the scarecrows lay on the floor, looking as dead and broken as they supposed to be, considering they really were scarecrows. The Headmaster walked over to them, picking up parts of them, looking at them in disbelief.

"They're straw. They're really straw," the Headmaster said and shot a quick look to Mira.

"Then no-one's dead, Sir?" Hutchinson asked. "We killed no one?"

But before the Headmaster could answer, all heads flung around. There were light steps on the gravel, someone was approaching. It was the little girl with her red balloon.

"You, child. Come out of the way," the Headmaster said and approached her. "Come into the school. You don't know who's out there. It's the Cartwright girl, isn't it? Come here. Come to me."

"Stay back!" Mira said, and suddenly she was at the Headmaster's side, together with Martha and Joan who came running out of the school.

"Quiet, woman!" the Headmaster yelled at her, letting slip for a moment just how on edge he was. "You were told to be quiet," he added, struggling for a more quiet, civilised tone.

"She's with them. Whoever this girl was is dead now!" Mira said, but he just shook his head.

"She's right, we saw it," Martha added. "Matron, tell him!"

"I think that," Joan said carefully. "I don't know. I think you should stay back, Headmaster."

They were right he thought, and suddenly a feeling of impending doom struck him. "She was," he said, "She was with, with Baines in the village."

"Mister Smith," the Headmaster said, "I've seen many strange sights this night, but there is no cause on God's Earth that would allow me to see this child in the field of battle, Sir. Come with me." He extended a hand towards the girl.

"You're funny," the girl said.

"That's right. Now take my hand."

"So funny," the girl said, produced a gun and vaporised the Headmaster. Just like that. "Now who's going to shoot me. Any of you, really?" she asked into the silence.

He saw how Mira raised her gun and before he knew what he was doing he found himself reaching for it. But he only managed to push her arm down again, not disarm her completely.

" Put down your guns!" he yelled, ignoring the disapproving look Mira gave him.

"But Sir, the Headmaster," Hutchinson protested.

"I'll not see this happen," he said, wondering where the sudden surge of courage was coming from. But it felt – _right_. "Not anymore. You will retreat in an orderly fashion back through the school. Hutchinson, lead the way."

"But Sir-"

"I said, lead the way!"

"Well, go on, then. Run!" Baines said and fired his gun into the air.

* * *

 _Martha_

There were more scarecrows. She had no idea how they had managed that, or if it were still the same ones, raised from the dead again, but anyway – it dawned on her that they had lost. Where was Latimer? She cursed Mira – not for the first time – for trusting that boy with the watch.

"Let's go," the Doctor said as they had reached the stable block., "Quick as you can."

"Don't go to the village. It's not safe," she begged him.

"And you, ladies," he only replied.

"No," Joan said, "Not till we've got the boys out!"

"Now, I insist. The three of you, just go," he tried to rush them. "If there are any more boys inside, I'll find them."

"You're not staying here," Mira said and tried to grab his hand – but he was faster, jumped back and stared at her somewhat shocked.

"With all due respect, Miss, but just leave your hands off-," he started but Mira interrupted him.

"Oh, shut it! You have to get it, they're after you! This is not the time to play the he-"

Mira stopped as the Doctor slammed the door shut again he had just opened. There had been scarecrows on the other side.

"I think, retreat," the Doctor said.

They had just made it outside as Mira was heading for some bushes, waving at them to follow her. She followed her, hiding behind the branches, and then she could see it. They had the TARDIS. She had no idea how they had managed to bring it here, and now they were standing around it and Clarke was calling out, "Doctor! Doctor! Come back, Doctor. Come home. Come and claim your prize."

"Out you come, Doctor. There's a good boy. Come to the Family," Baines added.

"Time to end it now," Jenny fell in.

"You recognise it, don't you?"she said after she saw how the Doctor was staring at it.

"Come out, Doctor. Come to us!" Jenny yelled again.

"I've never seen it in my life," the Doctor replied, fear in his voice.

"Do you remember its name?" she tried it again, but he only shook his head, staring at the blue box.

"I'm sorry, John, but you wrote about it," Joan said. "The blue box. You dreamt of a blue box."

"The one woman you will always share your life with," Mira whispered. "Sorry Joan, but it will always be some sort of threesome with him." Then she turned to the Doctor and added, "And I think in your dreams you know she's so much more than just a blue box, don't you?"

She looked at Mira in confusion. What was she talking about? The TARDIS was a spaceship, and yes, sometimes men tended to speak of their cars and stuff as if they were alive – and often female, but nevertheless, it was just a spaceship, wasn't it? Although she had to admit the shocked look on Joan's face as Mira had said the word threesome had been hilarious.

"You're responsible for her," Mira addressed the Doctor again. "What do you think will happen to her without you?"

"I'm not. I'm John Smith," he stammered, tears streaming down his face. "That's all I want to be. John Smith, with his life, and his job, and his love. Why can't I be John Smith? Isn't he a good man?"

"Yes. Yes, he is," Joan hurried to say.

"Why can't I stay?"

"But we need the Doctor," she said, feeling like crying out of frustration.

"What am I, then? Nothing. I'm just a story," the Doctor replied and ran off. She hurried to follow him, Mira and Joan close behind her.

"'Wait!" she yelled, but he kept on running until they reached a country lane which looked remotely familiar to her.

"This way," Joan said, "I think I know somewhere we can hide."

"We've got to keep going," the Doctor said, ready to run ahead again.

"Just listen to me for once, John," Joan said, and indeed, he stood still and looked at her. "Now, follow me."

* * *

 _Mira_

They finally reached a small, somewhat remote cottage.

"Oh, here we are. It should be empty," Joan said, breathing heavily. "Oh, it's a long time since I've run that far."

"Yeah, and the corset doesn't exactly help, does it?" she added, and the Doctor's and Joan's head flung around to her with a shocked look on their faces. "Sorry," she added nonchalantly, leaving no room for interpretation she wasn't sorry at all.

"But who lives here?" Martha asked.

"If I'm right, no one," Joan replied and opened the door. ""Hello? No one home. We should be safe here."

She followed her inside. It was dark, and the table was laid for tea.

"Whose house is it, though?" Martha asked.

"Er, the Cartwrights," Joan replied. "That little girl at the school, she's Lucy Cartwright, or she's taken Lucy Cartwright's form. If she came home this afternoon and if the parents tried to stop their little girl, then they were vanished." Joan touched the teapot and continued, "Stone cold. How easily I accept these ideas."

"Well," she said quietly, "There are those who accept those ideas, and those who just panic. But in general the human mind can accept quite a lot of things."

She looked up and for a moment she met Joan's eyes. As much as the nurse had annoyed her, she had to admit that she was keeping herself together really well right now.

"I must go to them, before anyone else dies," the Doctor said.

 _Seriously?_

She turned around and saw how he took a few steps back as she approached him. Well, not that she needed to see that to know that he was afraid of her. As much as she hated to see him like that, hated to know that she scared him, it was probably not the worst of all things right now.

"You stay here," she said slowly in a low voice. "And if I have to lock the door and/or knock you out. You're not going anywhere as long as you're human, is that clear?"

"She's mad!" he yelled, staring at her out of wide eyes. "What is she talking about? Keep her away from me!"

"She's right, you can't," Joan said. "Martha, Mira, there must be something we can do!"

"Not without the watch," Martha said quietly, shooting a somewhat angry look to her.

"Hey, he will come!" she said to Martha, wishing she would really be that certain. Where the hell was Latimer?

"You're this Doctor's companion," he addressed Martha now. "And who is she?" he asked and pointed at her. "Why would he travel with someone who threatens him? Can't you help Martha? What exactly do you do for him? Why does he need you?" The last sentence he had yelled at her.

"Because he's lonely," Martha said after a moment of silence.

 _Wrong thing to say._

"And that's what you want me to become," he replied.

"Oh come on, he's not lonely," she replied, and his head flung around to her. "I know at least two people who deeply cared about him in the past, and I think there have been a lot more. He just- _You_ like to believe you're lonely. It's a safe place for you, thinking that way, anticipating everyone will leave you in the end. But there's a difference between actually being lonely and the loneliness you put yourself in, but I also think you've just taken a huge step towards-"

She was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"What if it's them?" Joan whispered.

"I'm not an expert, but I don't think scarecrows knock," Martha whispered back.

"It's Latimer," she said and a wave of relieve rushed over her, making her knees feel weak.

"I brought you this," Latimer said and stepped in as Martha had opened the door, holding the watch in his hands.

"Hold it," Martha said to the Doctor, nodding at the watch.

"I won't!"

"Please, just hold it," Martha repeated.

"It told me to find you," Latimer added. "It wants to be held."

"You've had this watch all this time?" Joan asked. "Why didn't you return it?"

"Because it was waiting," Latimer said. "And because I was so scared of the Doctor."

"Why?" Joan asked.

Because he's the last of the most ancient and powerful species of this whole universe, she thought. He's older than he can even imagine and has seen beyond time itself. How can a little boy like him not be afraid? She remembered how she had felt, despite everything she had seen, everything she had been through in the centuries of her life, when she had been on the edge of his mind, the edge of his consciousness, afraid to step forward, afraid to jump, scared of what she might find, scared of getting lost. It had been a mistake to burden him with that watch, burden him with _him_ the whole time. And yet he came back, finally.

"Because I've seen him," Latimer said quietly. "He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun."

"Stop it," the Doctor whispered, but Latimer ignored it.

"He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe."

"Stop it! I said stop it,"

"And he's wonderful."

There was a long moment of silence, until Joan showed him a small book. "I've still got this. The journal."

"Those are just stories," the Doctor said.

"Now we know that's not true," Joan replied. "Perhaps there's something in here."

Suddenly a big bang shook the cottage. The bang of an impact. The bang of impacting missiles.

"What the hell?" the Martha yelled.

They all hurried over to the window. It were missiles indeed, or whatever they used on their spaceship.

"That's their f- bloody spaceship. They're attacking the village," she said

"The watch," the Doctor said, grabbed it, and it was clear he had no intention to open it. He wanted to hand it over to the family.

"John, don't," Joan said.

Suddenly she could hear a voice in her head, whispering, tainting, longing. He must be able to hear it as well, she thought, judging from the look on his face.

 _Closer_

"Can you hear it?" Latimer said.

 _Closer_. _Like he's asleep. Waiting to awaken._

"Why did he speak to me?" Latimer asked.

"Oh, low level telepathic field," the Doctor replied casually, for a moment sounding like himself again. "You were born with it. Just an extra synaptic engram causing-" Then he startled as if frightened about himself. "Is that how he talks?"

"That's him," she said. "Just open the watch. Please."

"You knew this all along and yet you watched while Nurse Redfern and I-" he said.

"I didn't know how to stop you," Martha replied whilst she was still searching for words. "He gave me a list of things to watch out for, but that wasn't included."

"Falling in love?" he replied, looking back and forth between her and Martha. "That didn't even occur to him?"

"No," Martha replied quietly.

"Then what sort of man is that? And now you expect me to die?" he yelled.

"Good God, he's not human!" she yelled back at him. "That's why it didn't occur to him. It did not occur to him that he could fall in love with another human here. That's not how he's thinking, and apart from that he-" she said but he cut her off.

"So love is not important to him? Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Oh, it is, but-"

"It was always going to end, though!" Martha interrupted her. "The Doctor said the Family's got a limited lifespan, and that's why they need to consume a Time Lord. Otherwise, three months and they die. Like mayflies, he said."

"So your job was to execute me," he said accusingly.

"People are dying out there," Martha said. "They need him and I need him. Because you've got no idea of what he's like. I've only just met him. It wasn't even that long ago. But he is everything. He's just everything to me and he doesn't even look at me, but I don't care, because I love him to bits. And I hope to God he won't remember me saying this."

"You know why he did this in the first place?" she fell in. She knew how close to the edge he was right now, and that there probably was nothing she could say to convince him, but she had to try it. "Because he's a good person. Despite all his flaws and everything. A much better person than I am in this case. He could have fought back, killed them a thousand times over. And yes, I would have done just that. They attacked us, and I always say whoever wants to live is free to just not attack me in the first place. But he _chose_ not to. Instead he chose to hide. And you know what's probably the worst thing? I'm so blind and... and set in my ways by now that it needed Latimer, a little boy, to make me realise it. _They only have spears._ So he made his choice and he trusted us enough to care for him and to make him change back when everything is over – or when they would find us. So, you talk once more about being lonely now."

Another explosion sounded, making them all jump.

"It's getting closer," Latimer said.

"I should have thought of it before," the Doctor said, looking at the watch in his hands. "I can give them this. Just the watch. Then they can leave and I can stay as I am."

"You can't do that!" Martha yelled at him.

"If they want the Doctor, they can have him."

"He'll never let you do it," Martha replied.

"If they get what they want, then, then-"

"Then it all ends in destruction," Joan said, looking up from the journal. "I never read to the end, but those creatures would live forever to breed and conquer, for war across the stars for every child. Mira, Martha, Timothy, would you leave us alone, please?"

She looked at Joan and the Doctor for a moment, then she turned around and walked out, waving at Martha to follow her. If there was one person who could convince him now, than it was Joan, as much as she hated to admit it.

"So, now waiting is all we can do?" Martha asked, sitting on the bench in front of the house, next to Latimer.

"I'll go to them, try to convince them to stop their attack," she said, scratching her head, looking at the explosions over at the village.

"I'll come with you!" Martha said and jumped up.

"No. You stay here."

"But-"

"Martha," she said and took her hands, halfway expecting she would pull them away. But she didn't. "You really would come with me, would you?" It was not so much a question but speaking out the obvious, as she knew exactly how Martha was feeling right now. "You're scared to death yet you would come. I appreciate that, I really do. But you have to stay here, with him."

"But-"

"He's scared of me. I can't do any good here. Please, just not let him get away with the watch."

Martha stared at her for a moment longer, then she nodded. "Okay. But be careful!"

"I will," she replied, and they hugged each other, before she ran off towards the field with the spaceship.

* * *

 _Doctor_

He heard Mira's voice as he entered the ship, begging and pleading to convince them to stop the bombardment. Martha had told him that Mira had gone here, and yet he had hoped she was wrong. Did she not know how dangerous this family was? She could have easily killed her. Oh, if they had so much as harmed a single hair on her head, he wouldn't be responsible for his actions.

"We'll blast them into dust, then fuse the dust into glass, then shatter them all over again," he heard the voice of the one who had once been Baines, a rather dislikeable human, but not even he did deserve that fate. But there had been a certain creativity in that sentence, he had to admit. Oh, but he could easily beat that if he had to.

"Just," he started just as a boom rocked the ship, giving him the perfect excuse to lurch against a column of switches. "Just stop the bombardment. That's all I'm asking. I'll do anything you want, just, just stop."

He really tried to keep himself under control, tried to calm the anger, the rage which was brooding inside him, boiling underneath the surface, ready to erupt. He had given them a fair chance, but they just couldn't stop. If they had touched her, then-

"Say please," Baines said, smiling viciously.

"Please," he said, trying to sound as his human self. Good grief, he only wished he couldn't remember everything so clearly. Then he saw Mira. She seemed to be unharmed, and for a moment their eyes met. There was a hint of a smile in her eyes before she cast them down again. So she knew he was no longer human.

"Wait a minute," Jenny said and sniffed. "Still human."

"Now I can't... I can't pretend to understand, not for a second," he stammered, "But I want you to know I'm innocent in all this. _He_ made me John Smith. It's not like I had any control over it." He _accidentally_ ran his hand over some more switches. The next - and last - lift off this ship would make would be in small pieces after he was done with it.

"He didn't just make himself human," Jenny replied. "He made himself an idiot."

"Same thing, isn't it?" Baines said.

"I don't care about this Doctor and your family," he continued. "I just want you to go. So I've made my choice. You can have him. Just take it, please! Take him away." He hold out the watch to Baines.

"Don't," Mira yelled. "You'll kill him!"

"At last," Baines said with a nasty smile and took the watch with one hand and his lapels by the other. "Don't think that saved your life," he said into his face, then pushed him away.

He took a small step to the side to fall just into the wall where the last switches were located he needed to flip to finally overload their antiquated reactor.

"Family of Mine, now we shall have the lives of a Time Lord," Baines said and opened the watch.

All four of them sniffed deeply, and it took them only a second to realise they had been framed.

"It's empty!" Baines yelled.

"Where's it gone?" he asked, tried to sound human and frightened once more.

"You tell me!" Baines replied and threw the watch to him.

He caught it without even looking at it. Piece of cake to calculate its trajectory and just extend his arm at the right moment. Oh, how he had missed that, now that he was thinking about the last weeks.

"Oh, I think the explanation might be you've been fooled by a simple olfactory misdirection," he said, now that there was no need to sound human anymore. "Little bit like ventriloquism of the nose. It's an elementary trick in certain parts of the galaxy." Then he turned to the machinery of the ship, knocked at it slightly and, seemingly without any reference to his previous sentences, he continued. "But it has got to be said, I don't like the looks of that hydroconometer. It seems to be indicating you've got energy feedback all the way through the retrostabilisers feeding back into the primary heat converters." He turned to them again and grinned. "Oh. Because if there's one thing you shouldn't have done, you shouldn't have let me press all those buttons." He walked over to Mira who was crouching next to a wall, extended his hand and helped her up, pulling her close to him. "But, in fairness, I will give you one word of advice. Run!"

 **...**

Last night he had taken care of the family – after he had asked Mira to go back to the cottage to get Martha. He had been back before anyone had noticed he had been gone. That was the good thing about having a timeship. No need to tell them what he had done though – that was between him and the family alone. Suffice it to say, their final wish, an immortal life, had been granted. Now he was back at the cottage, trying to mend what little was left. And as much as he would have liked it, he could not just vanish this time. He still remembered everything, with a clarity that almost frightened him. He had been human through and through for those past days, and everything he had felt and experienced had been real. That he thought differently about it now and even could not quite understand it didn't invalidate it. He could not just leave here without a word of explanation. It would not be fair. Not after he had been human himself. It was so very different to live amongst them and understand them and to actually be human for a while.

"Is it done?" Joan asked as he entered, her back turned to him.

"It's done," he said, standing on the opposite side of the room.

"The police and the army are at the school. The parents have come to take the boys home. I should go. They'll have so many questions. I'm not sure what to say." Then she finally turned around. "Oh, you look the same. Goodness, you must forgive my rudeness. I find it difficult to look at you. Doctor, I must call you Doctor. Where is he? John Smith?"

"He's in here somewhere."

"Like a story. Could you change back?"

"Yes."

"Will you?"

"No."

"I see. Well, then. I think she's wrong then. Mira. Maybe you are a better person than she is. But better does not necessarily mean good. At least _h_ _e_ was braver than you in the end, that ordinary man. You chose to change. He chose to die."

"That's not fair," he said quietly. "She did what she had to."

"Is that why you will not change back? You and her?"

He stared at her in surprise.

"So am I right ten?" she said. "I thought so. You fit together quite well, I think. You as you are now."

He could not help but recognise the bitterness in her voice.

"Joan, I'm sorry, I-" he started, walking towards her.

"You are sorry? Just answer me this then. Just one question, that's all. If the Doctor had never visited us, if he'd never chosen this place on a whim, would anybody here have died?"

He looked right into her eyes for a long moment, knowing exactly there was only one answer to this, and none that needed to be spoken out loud.

"You can go," she said quietly and turned around. "Live happy together with her then. I think the two of you are quite a match," she added. "Just never come back. We had enough death and destruction here."

 **...**

Back at the field where the TARDIS was waiting he found Mira and Martha outside in the pouring rain. They had changed their clothes, just as he had. Mira was wearing her blue uniform jacket, just as if to demonstrate that their time here was over, to set herself apart from a time and place which both weren't hers. She was leaning against the TARDIS, her arms crossed, shooting him an inscrutable look out of the corners of her eyes. He knew – well, he hoped – she wasn't angry. A part of him understood on a purely logical level that she knew, as well as he did, that he could not really be hold responsible for what he had done as a human. She of all people must have known that he hadn't been himself. And in fact she did not look angry. Mainly exhausted, tired, and, above all, dripping wet. And cold. Why hadn't they waited inside? Humans, always freezing with their high body temperature and no control over their biology.

"Right then. Molto bene," he said and cracked a smile.

"How was she?" Martha asked.

"Time we moved on."

"If you want, I could go and-" Martha tried it again.

"Time we moved on."

"Er, I meant to say, back there, last night," Martha said, her eyes cast down. "I would have said anything to get you to change."

He had to think for a moment, but then it dawned on him. Oh well. He wished she hadn't brought it up again. His own behaviour, what Martha and Mira had said. "Oh yeah, of course you would. Yeah," he said and smiled.

"I mean, I wasn't really..."

"Oh, no, no," he said, shaking his head.

"Good," she replied and smiled at him.

"Fine," he added and then, "And I never said: Thanks for looking after me."

Just as he hugged her, Latimer came running towards them.

"Doctor!"

"Tim Timothy Timber," he said and went over to him. He hadn't expected to see him again.

"I just wanted to say goodbye," Latimer said. "And thank you. Because I've seen the future and I now know what must be done. It's coming, isn't it? The biggest war ever."

"You don't have to fight, you know? Sometimes running away actually is an option." Mira's voice came from behind, making him turn his head.

"You did fight, didn't you?" Latimer asked after looking her up and down. "You did not run."

"That's different," she replied, looking down.

"Could you have run?" he asked.

"Don't know. Maybe..."

"Then I don't think it's different," he said firmly.

"But you could get hurt," Martha threw in, sorrow in her voice.

"Well, so could you, travelling around with him, but it's not going to stop you," Latimer replied.

"Tim, I'd be honoured if you'd take this," he said and handed him the fob watch.

He took it and ran his fingers over the engraved surface. "I can't hear anything."

"No, it's just a watch now. But keep it with you, for good luck," he replied.

"Oh God dammit," Mira said, walked over to Latimer, hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Just take care, will you?"

Then she went into the TARDIS, followed by Martha after she had said goodbye to Tim as well.

"You'll like this bit," he said to Tim with a smile before he followed Martha, and a moment later the TARDIS started to dematerialise, and then vanished as if she had never been there.

* * *

 _A/n: Thanks to everyone for pointing out the issues with life/live and such. (got message as well about that) I basically know the difference (though I really struggle with safe/save sometimes), but I really have to be more careful again when editing. My bad. I'll try to not confuse those words in the future :-)_

 _bored411, OneWhoReadsToMuch, StoryGirlWrites, miljamn, oXxgeorgiaxXo, E-man-dy-S, xXEndlessImaginationXx, frosty600: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_


	91. Chapter 91 - Human

**Chapter XCI**

 _Martha_

They had paid Tim a last visit. It was strange for her to suddenly see him as an old man – had he been a young boy to her only a few minutes ago. They had all worn the red poppies in remembrance of the veterans, and Mira had sobbed heartbreakingly – yet she had tried to keep herself together.

"What's the matter?" she asked as they were all back in the TARDIS. "He survived the war so why are you crying?"

"I'm not," Mira replied, still sniffing.

"Sure," she said after exchanging a quick glance with the Doctor. "Just got something in your eye, hm?"

"Oh Martha," Mira replied, "It's okay. I know he didn't die in the war, which is a good thing, but it just always gets to me seeing someone as a child and then again as an old man. It's... It's weird. Anyway. What happened to the family?" Mira turned to the Doctor.

That was something she herself was interested in as well. She had heard the explosion, and somehow assumed they had died, but something in the Doctor's face told her that was not the case.

"So, where are we going next?" he asked instead of answering.

"No, wait," she fell in, "What happened? They didn't get away, did they?"

"No," he said, eyes on the console, flipping some switches.

"So what happened then? Are they dead?" she asked.

"Nope."

"So what happened then? You have them locked away in here somewhere?" she asked, only halfway teasing him.

He looked up and directly at her for a moment. Had she just thought about nagging him until he'd tell her what had happened, after seeing the look in his eyes she thought better of it.

* * *

 _Mira_

It was a surprise to find him in the observatory – most of the times _she_ had been there, waiting for _him_. Or not waiting, but he had joined her anyway. Or probably she had been waiting without even knowing she did. He was sitting in the corner of the couch, watching her as she walked over to him and sat down next to him.

"So, how was it like, being human?" she asked, watching his face change to an expression which could be best described as revulsion, just as honest and seemingly as unaware of – human – social conventions as only he could be. "Oh come on, wasn't that bad, was it?" she added.

"Was it not?" he said, his eyebrows raised. "I have no idea how you cope to be honest. Always hungry, and cold, and, oh! Tired. How can anyone sleep that much only to be tired again a few hours later? I wonder how you humans get anything done at all! I slept for seven hours. Per night! You have no control over those bodies at all, have you? They're weak, so... fragile, and-"

"Could have been worse," she interrupted his babbling, "At least you could sleep. I was forced to lie in bed the whole night, and I can't remember when I've last done that, all night, every night. I don't need that much sleep. I liked it, back then. Sleeping. I could sleep for nine hours straight. I mean, I can still do it, but only when I'm exhausted to a point where it definitely becomes unhealthy, if not life threatening. Like, 'being stranded on some planet and forced to beat your way through some rain-forest for days on end' kind of being exhausted, so... But yes, it actually was cold in this school."

"Was it?" he said and frowned. "I'm sorry," he added after a moment of silence. "Joan, I- I don't know what got into me, I-"

"Don't worry," she replied and looked down, before she caught his eyes again. "I know. You were human. An ordinary human, and someone completely different. There was nothing left, apart your dreams, from your normal self. You looked like yourself, but you were someone else. Good God, with closed eyes I wouldn't have been able to recognise it's you at all. You-" She paused for a moment and then continued, "The human you'd turned into fell for Joan, and I can't blame him. I think, actually I have to be the one being sorry. I scared you, and I'm sorry for that."

"Nah, I wasn't scared," he said, shaking his head.

"Liar," she laughed but then got serious again. "Even before you were scared you were uncomfortable in my presence. No need in denying," she added as he slowly shook his head again. "And as said, I can't blame you. It's human, being scared of things you don't understand. And even though you had no idea who – or what – I am, you new something was weird. I always hoped I'll never have such an effect on other humans, but obviously I have by now. I think I felt a bit like that when I first met my father and all the others. Even before I knew. There was something about them, something you can't quite put your finger on, but it's there."

* * *

 _Doctor_

She was right. He would have loved to contradict her, but it was true. She was different, and, even though he could not explain it, he had felt it, and he was certain other humans could see it as well. And now that he knew how he had felt in her presence, he felt sorry for her. Sorry that she as an empath could sense how uncomfortable others were in her presence.

"It's not that bad," she said quietly, reminding him that their conversation was not merely on the level of speech.

Not quite telepathic right now, but definitely more than she could read in his face, of that he was certain.

"I should warn you," she said with an almost shy smile. "I don't know what it is yet, but I can certainly... feel something from you. It's not quite telepathic, but... I don't know. I- No idea what it is, to be honest."

Neither did he. Well, it certainly was quite unique, for he had never met a human like her, so who knew what would and could happen between them. In this case, only time would tell. And yet he didn't feel as confused about it as he had when they had admitted that there was something between them. Right now it was actually almost something he would look forward to.

"Oh, and I haven't thanked you yet, I guess," he broke the silence. "So, thank you. Really, I-"

"Never mind that," she said quietly.

"Oh, I do," he said gravely. "Thank you for everything, for taking the weapon from me and– blimey, you're fast!"

"Nah, I wasn't fast," she said and grinned. "You were slow. Even for a human. Slow and stubborn!" She got serious again and added, "By the way, I meant it. Every word of what I said to you." She suddenly took his hands, her fingers intertwined with his. "You're not alone. You might feel lonely, but you're not alone. Sarah cared for you, and I think Romana as well. Even Rose, and... Well, you heard Martha. They don't just leave you so they can go on with their lives and forget you. That's what you'd like to believe. But that's not how it is. It's only because you know they'll leave you in the end, one way or the other. So you would like to convince you that they go because they don't care. So you can believe you're not attached to them. That way it's easier in the short term, but not in the long run. Trust me, I've..." She freed her hands again, looking down at them, indecisively, only to enclose his right hand a second later. "It's just not good to live like that, but I guess you know that. And I know I'm probably not the best of all people to tell you that, not heading my own advice far too often – that doesn't mean everyone else has to live miserable as well."

He did not reply, just watched her fingers gently caressing the back of his hand, tracing the bones of his wrist, feeling the hair covering his skin. It tingled slightly, and even though he had hold her hands before, it seemed as if he just felt it for the first time.

He looked up at her, his eyes following the curve of his neck, wondering how it must feel to follow it not only with his eyes but also with his fingers, all the way down to her shoulder and-

He couldn't help these thoughts, nor could he deny the fact that he had been human - if only for a short while. He could very well remember, remember all those feelings, emotions, familiar and yet strangely foreign at the same time. Being attracted to someone in such a physical way as he had been drawn towards Joan; he had never quite understood why humans were as they were. Sure, it was fun, sort of, and yes, he had tried it himself occasionally, willingly so, if mainly for the sake of the experience and out of curiosity. But he had never _really_ understood it, never felt like they obviously did feel about it. He had come close, being in their heads from time to time, having been in _her_ head. But he was not an empath. He could watch these feelings, but they would never become his feelings, no matter how hard he tried. And now, whether he liked it or not, he had felt it first hand, and it lingered with him, faint but lasting, and it would probably stay with him for a very long time. And so he wondered, maybe for the first time ever, at least in that particular way, how soft her skin would feel under his touch - even though he had touched her skin before and knew how soft it was – but certainly not with this intentions. But what were his intentions?

Mira, who was looking at him, seemed to know better than he did, judging from the look in her eyes. He could hear her heart beating faster, and for a moment it flashed through his mind how all this was merely a physical reaction, even though humans tended to have more romantic expressions for it; a release of hormones, neurotransmitters, and such. But, for whatever reason, for once he didn't care what it was or how it worked. He actually, really, absolutely did not care, a fact that left him quite dumbfounded, if only for a second. Their eyes met for a moment as she looked up again, but then she closed them as he softly touched her cheek, traced the gentle curve on the side of her neck with the tips of his fingers, feeling her pulse under her skin, down to her shoulder, following the line of her collarbone. She shivered slightly under his touch, and just as he could feel the softness of her skin with his fingers he could feel the echo of his touch in her mind with his own.

Her face was so close to his now, he could smell her skin, sweet, warm, familiar despise the short time she had been in his life. Their cheeks touched, softly, fleetingly, pausing for a moment as if to reassure them of each others presence. His eyes were closed as well now as there was no need to see – he wanted to feel her, being unable to remember when – and if – he had felt someone like this before. He must have, at some point in his life, and he had certainly felt others in the more recent past; but not like this. There was a soft touch at the back of his head, ruffling his hair, fingers gently running down along his spine from there to the collar of his shirt, sending chills through his whole body. He had almost opened his eyes again in surprise – even more so as he could feel a slight hint of affectionate amusement about him being surprised like that in her mind.

 _Stop analysing!_

Her thought appeared in his mind, and only a moment later she wouldn't have needed to think that – her lips were touching his, lightly at first, and as he kissed her back there was hardly room for any thoughts left in his head.

* * *

 _bored411, oXxgeorgiaxXo, E-man-dy-S, OneWhoReadsToMuch, maithilijoshi54: Thanks for reviewing :-)_


	92. Chapter 92 - Of Ghosts and ? Pt 1

**Chapter XCII**

 _Mira_

They were somewhere in England, in the small village of Tynebridge – at least that was what the Doctor had told her. She had not seen much of Tynebridge so far, not houses nor the river Tyne itself – partially because it was pitch dark, the night sky covered in heavy clouds which only occasionally broke open exposing the full moon, a storm curling the trees above her head, and her eyes were fixed on the ground whilst trying to evade the numerous puddles and twigs and branches, clutching the Doctor's hand so she could follow in his steps without tripping over something. Partially also because they were not actually in Tynebridge itself, but slightly north of it, walking through a massive park towards-

Well, he hadn't told her yet, but by now she had a certain suspicion.

"Can we not do that when it's a bit brighter? Like at daytime?" she asked again, but he seemed to be determined to do whatever he was up to right now.

"You'll like it, trust me!" he replied and she followed him around another bend of the way they were walking along.

Martha was not with them, she had to do something with her family, and so he had suggested they'd do something together. It had not quite sounded like a date, but then again, it had, somehow. Spending time together outside the TARDIS, in the beautiful English landscape, why not? If she would only be able to actually see something of it.

"So just tell me, what is it? A castle?"

"Nope."

"A fortress?"

"Nope."

Then, finally, she saw it. As if it had been orchestrated the clouds opened again for a moment and she could see the old mansion house in the pale moonlight. At least it looked old, but there was a good chance every building would have looked old in this setting. It was quite large, three stories maybe, but yeah, definitely not a castle. There was a centre part with a few stairs leading to the entrance and two wings, stretching far to both sides. That was an overly simplified description – the longer she looked at it, the more details she could see. There were parts attached, smaller side buildings which could well be connected to the wings and it was impossible to tell how wide it was. From what she new of architecture the wings should be rather narrow though. It was framed by old, big trees, and, most of all, all windows were dark.

"What do you say?" he asked with a big grin on his face.

"Well. First of all, it's cold. Second, whoever you wanted to visit is not home. It's all dark," she replied, pulling up her shoulders and hugging herself, shivering in the cold wind.

"I don't want to visit someone," he replied. "Why do you think there's someone living here?"

"Well, what else do you want here then? Which year is it, anyway?"

"Doesn't matter," he replied. "And no, we're not visiting anyone. At least... not the living."

The last part he had whispered, looking at her expectantly.

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and feeling as if she was in the wrong movie.

"It's deserted for decades," he explained, pulling her with him towards the entrance. "Reportedly the most haunted house in the area. Weird sounds, whispering voices, lights behind the windows, dogs going mad, oh, and people as well, the usual..."

"Wait," she said and stopped, letting go of his hand. He walked a few more steps before he stopped as well and turned around to her. "A haunted house? Seriously?" she added.

"Yeah, at least so they say, so-"

"You believe in ghosts?" she asked.

"Why? No, no... At least I never met one. Yet. So..."

"Well, we can't just walk in there. You're sure it's deserted?"

"Yeah," he said, sounding not that convinced himself.

"There are no ghosts. At least in my universe there is no proof of ghosts whatsoever. I've seen things over the years which could pass as ghosts, but none of it were souls of the undead," she said, gesturing with her hands to emphasise that she did not take the idea of undead souls very seriously. "So what do you want in there?"

"Well, something's going on, and I thought we could check it out."

"No," she said, crossing her arms.

"No?"

"No! I'm not trespassing at someone else's house in search for 'ghosts' and-"

"Oh, come on! It's empty, isn't it? No one's near, you of all should know! So, what do you say?" he said, smiling at her his irresistible smile.

But not this time. Though she had to admit he had her there. No, no one was around, at least no one living and feeling, and the house seemed to be empty. For now.

"No," she said again, shaking her head. "Forget it."

"What? Why? Come on, live a little!"

"Live a little," she repeated his words, speaking to herself. "You know, I had my fair share of deserted space ships, deserted space stations, and even deserted cities and whole planets. And trust me, it was creepy like hell, and no, I never ever met a ghost. Not one. I am _not_ going in there, period. Dammit, we don't even have a torch, it's pitch black! And it's cold."

"Is it? I hadn't noticed."

"YES!"

"So, are you coming? It's probably warmer in there. At least less windy."

"No!"

"Why not? It's just a house. Come on, it'll be fun!"

"It's creepy!"

"Oh reeally?" he replied, his head tilted backwards, looking at her from above. "I thought that's the point about humans and their ghost stories. Come on."

He walked over to her, put his arm around her shoulders, trying to pull her with him. But she didn't move, leaning backwards against his arm.

"So, what is it?" he whispered so close to her ear that she could feel his cool breath on her skin, giving up his attempts on pushing her.

"I'm not going in there," she repeated stubbornly. "I 'm done with ghost hunting for the rest of my life."

"So you _do_ believe in ghosts?"

"No," she said, knowing at the same time there was no point in denying it. Not with him. And yes, it was true. There had been, and still was, a small part of her which was hopelessly superstitious, and despite everything she had seen and all her knowledge it was still lurking in the back of her mind, waiting to come out when the occasion was right – or not that right, most of the times. Maybe it was something genuinely human, something like a shared subconsciousness, deeply rooted in human culture.

Yes, it was just a house. And yes, everything which had happened in there to others most likely had a very good, very scientific explanation. And yet...

"Well, I did," she finally admitted. "Ages ago. And I thought it's a good idea to do ghost hunting. Once. Just once. It was a rather small house, and I was supposed to walk up to the first floor and see if I can hear something, all on my own. It took not quite five minutes and I ran out screaming. I'm not even sure I _really_ heard something... Most likely not. The others told me they'd almost called an ambulance because I wouldn't calm down. I guess someone slapped me out of it eventually, but I can't quite remember. So now you know one of my most embarrassing teenager stories and no, I'm not going in there."

Just then a bright lighting almost immediately followed by a thunder tore the air, making her shriek and jump.

"See?" she said, staring at him. His dark eyes gleamed in the moonlight, and he looked slightly startled about her reaction himself.

"You're not alone this time, so what could happen?" he asked and smiled again. "Please. Just come with me to the door. We can turn around if you really don't want to go in there."

She sighed resignedly, let him take her hand and followed him, knowing she had already lost.

The house seemed to grow even bigger as she approached it until it filled out her whole field of vision. It was a bit like in one of those ghost movies – step in and never coming out again. Even the door looked like straight out of a movie. Big, old, dark wood with iron fittings, heavy looking. There was a door knocker in the form of a gargoyle head holding a ring in its mouth. An ugly thing if she had ever seen one. The entrance was framed left and right by huge casement windows, each casement divided into smaller parts by thick wooden beams, yet still as big as a single, normal sized window back in her time. But as much as she tried, she could not see through them; probably they were too dirty. Meanwhile, the Doctor had produced the Sonic Screwdriver from his pockets and with a loud click the door unlocked.

"Hey! That's burglary!" she whispered.

"So?" he replied, his hand on the doorknob.

"Wait!" she said. "If - _If_ we really go in there: No bad jokes. Really, I mean it."

"What? What are you talking about?" he said, looking at her in all his alien confusion.

"What am I talking about? Nothing like: Sneaking off and leaving me alone in the dark. Or, pulling my hair or clothes and saying it wasn't you, or-"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because it's funny?"

"Is it?"

"No! I swear, if you do anything remotely like it, I'll never even so much as look at you again. Got it?"

"I don't think that's very funny," he mumbled and finally opened the door. "I won't do anything like that"

The door swung open, creaking in its hinges as if it hadn't been opened in ages. That could well be the case, she thought as she followed the Doctor over the threshold. The air in there was stale and dusty. _Old_. There was a strange energy, a strange atmosphere, and she was not quite certain it was only in her head, knowing now that this very place was supposed to be spooky. Clearly a lot had happened in this place, forever imprinted in its very stones.

"How old is this house?" she asked, her voice hardly more than a whisper, even though she had wanted to speak normally. Why was she whispering then? The house was empty, so there was no one she could have alarmed by speaking up. And yet it felt as if fear was already choking her, fear breathing coldly in her neck. Primal fright, like being a child again, sitting the dark bedroom, holding her breath to not wake what might lurk under the bed.

"The main part and parts of the wings were build in 1578," he replied with a normal voice, making her jump. "But they refurbished it a few times. Took out the floors in some areas of the original parts to make the ground floor higher. The outer walls are original though. Limestone. It was enlarged over the centuries, the newest part at the back is from 1857. Well that's a great entrance hall, isn't it?"

"Very funny."

"Hm?"

"It's pitch black."

The only thing she could see were the frames of the windows, not much else. Next thing she heard were his light steps walking away from her.

"Wait, where are you going? Don't you dare-"

Then she heard the sound of a matchstick, and suddenly she could see his face lit up by a candle.

"Getting some light for you," he said, all innocent, walking back and handing her the candle. "Forgot for a moment just how bad human eyesight is in the dark. Sorry. Although I have to say, it somehow ruins the atmosphere," he added with a frown, looking around.

And yes, he was right, it was a massive entrance hall. A gallery was overlooking it, connected with the ground level by a massive, wooden stair. There was a lot of dark wood in here, she added in her thoughts as she looked around. The Elizabethan and late Tudor influence was undeniable. It might have even been a really comfortable entrance hall, judging from the huge fireplace, the thickly upholstered armchairs, the decoration of old weapons and medieval armour, and a huge carpet muting the sounds of their steps as they walked towards the step.

"Let's head for one of the wings," the Doctor said. "Here's just the official rooms I guess. The wings with the guest-, private- and bedrooms is where all the drama happened, don't you think?"

* * *

 _Doctor_

Now, as they were walking through the east-wing, he had to admit that the house was even bigger than it appeared to be from the outside. He had expected the wings to be quite narrow, just a hallway with rooms to both sides, but they actually were much deeper, the floor-plan being devoid of any logic whatsoever which could only be explained by the house being enlarged throughout the centuries. And yet, on the inside it looked all similar in a Tudor and Elizabethan style.

Mira was walking next and slightly behind him and holding onto the candle for dear life. He knew that she had a thing for superstitions and these sort of things. They hadn't talked about it, but that was one of the things about her personality he had seen in her mind. To be fair, most humans had that more or less, lurking in a corner of their minds where logic and rationality had no saying, an instinct once so important for survival as well as providing a convenient explanation for the formerly unexplained and in modern times more an annoyance than anything else. But he hadn't expected that this house would hit such a nerve with her - but then again, something definitely _was_ weird here. He did not believe that it actually were ghosts at work here – in all his life he had never encountered anything which had come back from the dead as a ghost; even when it seemed like, there had always been another explanation. But he was absolutely determined to figure out what it was – and without the help of his Sonic Screwdriver, if possible. He was even open to the idea of encountering ghosts. And he was almost certain Mira could feel herself that something was odd – otherwise she would not freak out like that already.

"That's what I call a huge bed," he said as he randomly opened one of the doors to his left. It was then when he realised that he had been babbling the whole time about random things he could not quite remember whilst lost in thoughts. He was not nervous, wasn't he? Nah, why would he be?

"Wonder if that's the master bedroom," he continued as he walked around the huge, four-poster bed made of dark wood which stood on one wall, a richly embroidered canopy covering it, matching the bedspread and multiple cushions. Apart from the bed the room was sparsely furnished – some armchairs, a trunk, and two bedside tables. The wooden, creaking floor was covered in thick carpets.

"So how did you do it? Lie on the bed and wait if _something_ lies down beside you?" he continued and then jumped on the bed, backside first, lying there, arms and legs stretched out.

"Don't," Mira said, her voice weirdly toneless.

"What?" he asked and propped himself on his elbows so he could see her.

"Don't," she repeated. "Get up."

"Why?"

"Seriously, get up. Don't do that."

"Mira, come on!" What was wrong with her now? "Here's still room," he added, patting the bed beside him. "Why won't you..."

She didn't seem to listen as she just turned around and walked straight out of the door. He watched after her as the light of the candle disappeared in the hallway, a big frown forming on his forehead. He could hear her steps receding, stopping for a moment after approximately sixteen feet, then walking into an enclosed space, most likely another room on the opposite side of the hallway. He heard her talking, "Just don't lie on other people's beds, okay?" Rather quietly, but by now she must know how good his hearing was so he didn't wonder about it too much.

"Okay, fine," he said just as quietly, sat up, swung his legs off the bed and walked over to the door as well. There he stood for a moment, watching the light of the candle moving around in a room ahead of him.

"Ow, that was my hair!" she whispered now, "Could you be a bit more careful?"

The frown on his head grew even bigger. Slowly he began walking towards the room, trying to not make too much noise, to not disturb whatever was going on in there. There was no one in there with her, was there? As he lurked through the doorway he could see her standing sideways to him, looking at a huge picture on the wall. The room seemed to be some small library, a few bookcases made of dark wood covering the walls, a comfy looking armchair, a big picture, and Mira. And nothing/no-one else.

"Mira?" he said and her head flung around. "What's with your hair?"

"You-" she said, her eyes growing wide, "Where- I thought you were in here?"

"Nope."

"You weren't in here?"

"Nope," he said again, shaking his head.

"You... You did not... you did not pull my hair?"

"No, no I didn't. Why would I? Maybe it got caught somewhere?"

"You weren't in here - the whole time?" she said, her voice thick with fear and he doubted she had even heard his last sentence.

He shook his head again.

"Then... Who is standing behind me?" she breathed, the candle shaking in her hand so hart he was afraid she would drop it any moment.

"Mira, there's no one here, the room is empty," he said, taking a step towards her.

It was then when she finally dropped the candle which went off immediately. She didn't even scream, she just jumped forward and ran past him, an expression of utter panic on her face, further down the corridor which was bending right, and around the corner.

"Mira!" he yelled and went after her. "It's too dark for you, you'll-"

Fall over something, he wanted to say, but he already heard her bumping against something around the corner. It sounded like wood, and a second later he heard her rattling at a door. He was around the corner as well when he heard her yelling in panic, "It's locked! We're locked in!"

"Mira," he had caught up with her and tried to pull her away from the door.

"Who in hell locked that bloody door?" she yelled, now banging against it with her fists.

"Mira, stop it!" he yelled himself now because he doubted she would listen to him otherwise. He grabbed her forearms and finally pulled her away from the door, turning her around, still holding her so she could not run off again. "Mira, that's not the door we came in," he added more quietly.

"Is it not?" she said after a moment with a shaky voice, staring through his face, reminding him again that she could hardly see anything in this dark corner of the hallway.

"No," he replied, "This one is leading further into the east-wing. The one we came in is behind us."

"Really?" she asked and leaned against him, her face against his chest.

"Really," he replied, hugging her. "Say, what made you think I was standing behind you? I was on the bed the whole time."

"I heard your steps," he heard her muffled voice.

"There were no steps," he said, able to see almost every detail of her face as she lifted her head again. "Apart from yours, I mean."

"I _heard_ them! They were right behind me, and then someone pulled my hair. And no, it didn't catch somewhere, I was right in the middle of that room. I could feel someone behind me! Well, not really _feel_. More in a physical way, like someone shuffling and breathing behind me."

"Sure you heard it? Or was it in your head?"

She stared at him for a moment, before slowly shaking her head.

"And why did you mind me lying on that bed?"

"Did I? I don't know..."

"You told me to get off it!"

"That I do remember. But I don't know why I minded it that much. Honestly, I couldn't care less who's lying on that old thing."

So something _was_ going on in here. He wasn't quite sure what it was yet, some sort of entity, something alive? And, judging from the amount of stories around this house, one didn't need to be psychic to feel its presence. He still didn't believe it was a ghost though. Something alien, definitely. But not a-

"We have to get out of here," Mira said suddenly.

"What? Why?" he whined. "We came here to see what's going on, and now we know there actually is something going on, and you want to leave? Come on! Who if not us will figure it out? Don't worry, I don't think it's a ghost, and it seems it already tried to contact you."

"Seriously? I don't care if it's a ghost or not, I don't like being influenced without me noticing it. And I tell you, I've _heard_ those steps, that wasn't just in my head! I would notice that!"

"Maybe it needs our help?"

"Oh come on, that's not fair, I-"

Suddenly both of them jumped – Mira even shrieked and buried her face against his chest again - as the door rattled violently and loudly in its frame, as if someone was trying to get out. It lasted for a few seconds, and then, after another loud bang from the other side, all was quiet again.

"Did you just scream?" he said as he took her gently by the shoulders and pushed her away so he could see her face.

"So what?" she said and freed herself from his grip.

"You're all right?" He could hear her heart beating and her breath going much to fast. "Too much oxygen is not good, you might want to try to-" He stopped as she lifted her index finger in a gesture to shut him up. Then she turned around to face the door.

"That's enough," she said, and then, louder, almost yelling at the door, in her voice a mix of fear and rage, "What's next then? Rattling chains? A figure in a white dress? Do you think that's funny? Shaking a bloody door? Come on, show yourself you fucking coward! Bloody tw-"

"Mira!" he stopped her, looking back and forth between her and the door. "I am shocked."

"Yes, so am I," she replied and pointed at the door. "Shocked to death. Well, almost. Would you be so kind and try to open it? Please?"

"No more swearing then?"

She sighed and said, "Fine. For now. Don't look at me like that. I was shocked, really. Sometimes I swear to compensate that and..."

"Do you really want to leave?" he asked and took her hands, looking at her intently and for the fracture of a second he could feel again the sensation of her bare, soft skin against his, back in the TARDIS not too long ago. How he had been tracing all the marks sixteen-hundred years had left on her body, some barely visible, others more prominent like the scar on her shoulder. It was more than a memory, almost a flashback, but it was gone just as quick. But he could also feel how hard she was trying to pull herself together right now. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea after all – the last thing he wanted was for her to suffer.

 _No_ , he heard her in his mind. _Let's find out who in h- Sorry. Who's responsible for that. It's okay, really. I'm not a teenager any more after all._

He let go of her hands and tried to open the door with his Sonic Screwdriver. Well, he always could open it with something else, so that was not really cheating, was it? Just a moment later he realised that his attempt of cheating was in vain.

"Deadlocked," he said, more to himself, staring at the door disbelievingly.

"How so?" Mira asked, "That's a simple lock, isn't it? We could even try it with hairpins. I have some..."

"Nah," he decided. "Let's look for another way. I'm sure there's a walk-through room or something. Can't imagine that's the only way into the rest of this wing."

"As long as you still remember where we came from – I absolutely fail at imagining the floor-plan of this _thing_."

"Sure I can. I have an unerring sense of direction!" he replied, slightly indignant. "Well, most of the times. Almost always, I-"

"I don't want to hear it. Just leave it to unerring, will you? And we have to go get the candle. I can't see a thing."

* * *

 _Mira_

They had tried some of the rooms left and right the hallway, and indeed, they had found one with a second door, leading to even more rooms. She still tried to track the orientation of the rooms and corridors in her mind, mapping it to how the building looked from the outside, but failed miserably. There were windows where she didn't expect them to be and just the other way around, confusing her completely. Sure, it had seemed big from the outside, and rather complex in its layout with all the different parts attached, but not _that_ big.

"We're lost," she said, for the umpteenth time.

"Nah," the Doctor replied whilst knocking at the wooden panels covering the walls of yet another room.

"But you would admit if we're lost? You're not just saying we're not?"

He didn't reply but continued knocking. She turned around to the door where they had come in. The room was almost empty, and no other door, so they were wasting their time. This room was a dead end. But there was a window, so they must be somewhere on an outer wall.

"Ah, there it is-" she heard him say behind her, then the candle was blown out by a sudden, cold draught, followed by a loud a bang.

She flung around, almost blind in the darkness after staring in the bright light of the candle just a moment ago.

"Doctor?" she yelled and ran over to where he had been, only to find the place empty. "Doctor?"

Her hands were sliding over the panelling, searching for the hidden door he must have opened. But how could he vanish so fast? She hammered against it, a dull, muffled sound, as if nothing but solid brick wall was behind the wood. "Doctor?"

As the clouds outside broke open for a moment moonlight bathed the room in a cold, almost glaring light and she could see she was indeed alone before it got dark again. She hammered against the panelling once more, then put her ear against it but – nothing. "DOCTOR!" No reply. "Fuck!" she stomped her foot on the floor in utter frustration.

Okay, calm down, remember who you are and keep yourself together, she thought and drew a deep, shaky breath. There must be some secret mechanism opening a door. She tried not to think about how he could have vanished so incredibly fast. One step at a time. The next minutes she spent systematically knocking at the wall, trying to trigger whatever he had triggered. Finally she gave up, unable to say how long she had been trying; but she was certain she had covered every inch of the part of the wall where he had been knocking.

Not only her sense of direction, but also her sense of time was somehow screwed. Now that she as thinking about it, she couldn't even remotely say how long they had been here, not for the life of her. The change that had happened since she had come here was so subtle that she had hardly noticed it. But now, with her hand resting against the wall, she could feel it. The old wood, the stone behind it, all the things these walls had seen throughout the centuries. Even the weird layout of the rooms didn't seem that weird any more – not that it made any more sense though.

She pulled her hand away as sudden as if she had burned it.

 _Stop it._

What in hell was going on? She could not sense anything or anyone with her psychic senses, and yet something was not quite right. Something was separating her perception, her way of thinking piece by piece from reality, pushing the reason why she was here and what she wanted to do next to some far off corner of her mind, making everything in here appear slightly less odd with every passing moment - so subtle she would only know when it was too late. Or was it just her imagination? Knowing how old this house was, together with the darkness, the storm outside, being alone and-

The Doctor!

Had she forgotten? No. She tried to pull herself together and looked around. By now her eyes were more adapted to the darkness, and together with the dim light from the windows she could take a closer look at the fireplace. She walked over and grabbed a massive, cast-iron poker. Next time when she heard steps behind her she certainly wasn't unprepared.

 _Stop it! There were no steps._

All she had to focus on now was trying to find the Doctor and not getting any more lost than she already was.

* * *

 _Doctor_

The sheer force of whatever had pulled him through the newly formed hole in the wall knocked him over. By the time he got up again, only seconds later, he only found a massive, wooden panelled wall – the opening was gone. He was alone, but that was no surprise. Mira had been a few feet behind him, and there had been no time for her to follow him. As he looked around to orientate himself he stopped dead in his tracks. The wood panellings along the wall, the chairs in the corners, the windows, even the Tudor-fireplace – it was an exact copy of the other room, only mirrored.

The next minutes he unknowingly spent almost exactly like Mira - minus the swearing and stomping. And he was much faster, as he could remember where and how he had knocked on the wall on the other side, and it was easy for him to find the exact same spots here. He even tried it on other spots, but in vain.

There were various things he couldn't explain – first of all, the wall was massive. There should be an opening behind the panelling or even behind the bricks – but there was none. He didn't need to scan it, the sound when knocking against it was telling him enough. It was as massive as it could be. Second, why was the room mirrored? A weird quirk of the owner or the architect? He didn't doubt for a second that he was still in the same building in the same dimension and timeline. Otherwise he would have noticed it. Third, there was the illogical floor-plan. He hated to admit, but it was confusing him as well. He should easily be able to picture it in his mind, but he failed for some rooms.

Then again, all things considered, nothing objectively was wrong or really strange in here, apart from Mira's previous behaviour. He hadn't heard any steps; it was just a house, certainly old but nothing out of the ordinary. No disturbances in time or space. Of course, there were all the stories surrounding it, and to most human stories there was at least a hint of truth.

He walked over to one of the chairs and sat down, raising a small cloud of dust.

But, all in all, it was more things he did not understand than he was comfortable with. Why was Mira so much more susceptible to whatever was going on here than he was? Was it really only because it was the cliché haunted house setting here? What was it with the steps she claimed to have heard? He didn't doubt for even a second that she was convinced of it, but still, she could have imagined it after all. _He_ hadn't heard them. And the door rattling followed by a loud bang? Probably the wind and then a window slamming shut. But why was the door deadlocked? Well, whoever was living here didn't want them in that part of the wing, and that was perfectly fine with him.

Whilst he was sitting there and thinking, his hand was gliding over the cold wood of the armrest, tracing the carvings, acknowledging the craftsmanship of whoever had built this chair. A quite comfortable chair, someone else's chair. Not _his_ chair. Suddenly it didn't feel that comfortable at all – rather quite wrong. He shouldn't sit in it.

 _Seriously, get up._

That was what Mira had said when he had been lying on the bed. Not _his_ bed. He jumped up as if the chair had bitten him, turned around and stared at it and then around himself. How long had he been sitting there? And why had it suddenly felt so _wrong_? And why had he been sitting there _at all_? There were more important things to do. So why sit around and – do what exactly? He had wanted to leave this room and search for Mira, and finally turned to the door and walked out, a part of him afraid he would sit down again if he waited any longer in this room.

For a moment he considered if he should search for the way out, hoping Mira would do the same and probably already waiting outside for him – but she would certainly look for him before leaving here without him.

He continued the short hallway which, and as all hallways looked rather similar here, it did not occur to him that it looked much like the one leading to the other, mirrored room. It was ending with a door to another walk-through room. He stopped for a moment to listen for steps – Mira could be nearby after all - but he couldn't hear any. Just as he wanted to call her, he saw her standing in the next room, which was round as if it was part of a little tower on one of the corners of the building, facing the windows, her back turned to him. Weirdly enough, she had changed her clothes.

"Mira?" he said, wondering why he was talking so quietly. "Where did you find that dress?"

He halfway expected her to jump, but she didn't move, just stood there staring out of the window. The dress was long, flowing, in a pale green colour, hemmed with lace. Though it wasn't ripped or worn out, it seemed to be quite old. Reluctantly he started to walk towards her, only to stop again after a few steps, still probably eight feet away from her.

"Mira? What are you doing?"

She appeared to be frozen to the spot. Her hair, which had been in some half-up, was now completely open and falling over her right shoulder, exposing the pale skin of her neck. Her arms were hanging limb at her sides.

"Mira?" Still no reaction. He started to walk towards her again, a growing feeling of unease coming over him. What was wrong with her? "Mira, it's me. Turn around and look at me, will you?" Finally he reached out to touch her shoulder, hoping not to scare her too much.

"To whom are you talking to?"

One of his hearts stopped for a moment when he realised the voice was coming from behind him, leaving him feeling unpleasantly light-headed. He spun around, his hand lifted and hanging in the air, his eyes scanning over the figure standing in the doorway – but he had already recognised her voice. She was still dressed as she had been when they were separated. Plus, she was armed with a massive, cast-iron poker which he remembered had been hanging next to the fireplace in both rooms. Well, if that wasn't so Mira. But who...

He flung around again, but the place where she- that woman had been standing was empty.

"You're all right?" Mira asked. "You look like you've-" she didn't finish the sentence but bit her lip. "Forget it," she added quietly.

Was he hallucinating now? He quickly walked over to her and touched her temple slightly with his fingertips.

"Hey, it's me, okay?" she said muffled as he was already hugging her.

"But where is she gone then?" he said and let go of her again. "She was here a moment ago!"

He walked back to the spot where he had seen the woman, stomped slightly on the floor, looking around himself, searching for more secret doors.

"Who?" Mira asked.

"There was a woman. I could have sworn it was you. Though I don't know why you'd put on that ugly old dress."

"What dress?"

"A green one. Honestly, I swear, I thought it was you. Same height, same frame, pale skin, long- Wait. I actually don't know how long, she had it over her shoulder. She was standing there, staring at the windows."

"Doctor."

"Maybe she teleported-"

"There was no-one."

"Or it was a projection, or- Wait. What did you say?"

"There was no-one. I watched you walking and lifting your hand, and I heard you talking, but there was no-one."

"How could you see her? She was standing behind me, seen from the door."

"I would have. You were standing slightly sideways. And then you turned around, moving out of my line of sight. There was no-one."

"Really?"

"Really. So you do believe now that I didn't make up the steps? Good God, I'm glad I didn't turn around when I heard them...," she said and stepped away from the open door, placing her back towards the wall, so close that hardly anyone could stand behind her.

So it had been a hallucination? He shouldn't have that. There were no drugs or anything like that in his system, and he couldn't imagine what influence could cause him to see _ghosts_.

"How did you find me?" he asked eventually.

"Wasn't too hard," Mira said and started to walk along the wall, her fingertips sliding over the panelling. "I just left the room, walked down the hallway, through the previous room and there you were. Wonder that you didn't hear me banging against the wall from in here?"

"What?" he said, staring at her out of wide eyes. "Can't be. I came out in that room back there. Whoever build this house had a funny taste though, it's exactly the same room just mirrored."

"No, it's not mirrored," she said, her fingers still touching the wall. What was she doing?

"It is, and that was the room I was in after-"

Mira had turned around again and for a moment they just stared at each other before she finally pulled her hand away from the wall in a sudden movement as if bitten, wiping her fingers at her trousers.

"It's this house," she whispered. "It's not just weird architecture."

He knew exactly what she was insinuating. There was something going on, a shift in time or even space, but then he should be able to feel it; and there was nothing. Or was there? Maybe he was just thinking, _believing_ that everything was normal? Spatial and temporal anomalies could wreak havoc with some people's minds - most definitely with human minds - creating feelings of disorientation and fear, even more so if someone was sensitive to time like Mira was. But it should not influence him like that. Not making him see – and feel – things that were most likely not there and then miss other things – like something wrong with time – that could be there. And if something was wrong with time, then it was a possibility that this woman had been there – an echo of another time, but then Mira should have seen her as well, because then, purely objectively speaking, the woman in green had _actually_ been there. Visible for everyone able to see himself, as she had existed in the same temporal and spacial continuum as him, if only for a moment.

"We need to find the way back to the entrance hall," Mira said, pulling him out of his thoughts and grabbed his hand. "And don't you dare letting go of my hand. I really don't feel like panicking and running off to God-knows-where in this weird maze of a house. Or being separated again."

"Okay," he said a bit breathless, but not yet scared. Well, not quite. Maybe a little. Actually rather confused than scared.

"And then we... regroup and decide how to proceed," she added. "Which is the tactical way of saying: Let's get the hell out of here. What do you say?"

"Sounds like a plan."

 _~to be continued~_

* * *

 _a/n: Okay, I think this was the third year where I wanted to post a story like this on Halloween. Last year (did not work out with the timetable) and the year before when I was still living in Germany (well, I actually had planned it back then for the next year). I almost made it this year, but then I had a nasty cold and then I was off on Star Trek LARP and had to prepare stuff for that. I also realised when starting to write it that it'll get much longer than I thought. So I decided to finally post it anyway. I hope it's not a total miss as it is not easy to write ghost-stories. :-)_

 _heroherondaletotherescue, OneWhoReadsToMuch, bored411, oXxgeorgiaxXo, MiaEther, AxidentlGoddess, maithiliJoshi54, Shadow, and the two unknown guests: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_


	93. Chapter 93 - Of Ghosts and ? Pt 2

**Chapter XCIII**

 _Mira_

"Wait," she said as she followed the Doctor, clutching his hand. "A green dress you said? A long one?"

"Yeah," he replied, "Why?"

"There was a woman on the picture in that other room – where something pulled my hair. There was an old man on it, and a woman standing a bit behind him, wearing a long green dress. With lace. I wondered why she's with her back to the viewer; staring out the windows."

"So then there really is a woman in a green dress?" he replied without stopping.

At least he seemed to know where they were heading, even though she had no idea. But for some reason she wanted to see that picture again.

"Can we stop when we pass the room with the picture again? Should be close to the door to the main hall anyway. Maybe there's a hint of who she is..."

"I thought you wanted to leave?" he said reluctantly.

"Well, yes, but- There's something about her if you saw her and, well. As you said, maybe someone needs help."

Truth was, she herself did not know why she really wanted to have another look on that picture. She still felt trapped in this weird mood, feeling strangely at home here whilst her conscious thinking was on the verge of panicking. She didn't even mind the darkness that much any more and did not think about lighting the candle again.

She didn't even wonder about the fact that the Doctor found the way back to the small library rather quickly.

* * *

 _Doctor_

They were staring at the painting – well, at least he was, as it must be too dark for Mira to see anything, and indeed, the woman showing only her back could have well been the figure he had seen. He was about to shove his hands in his pockets, but he caught a strand of Mira's hair between his fingers.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry," he said, untangling his fingers and finally reaching for his pockets.

So was it an actual ghost? Should they now search around the house for her grave? Or search for her bones and then give her a decent burial? No, that was just stories and fairy-tales. But why had he seen her standing there then?

Suddenly Mira turned around and left the room – he couldn't help himself but she almost looked like as if sleepwalking. Her movements slightly stiff and her steps a bit insecure.

"Oi! Mira? Where are you going? Don't run off again...," he said quietly and followed her.

She didn't turn around but walked over to the bedroom where he had been lying on the bed not too long ago. There she determinedly walked over to a wooden wardrobe and opened it. There was a lot of stuff in it, but she grabbed in it unerringly and seemingly without searching for even a second, pulled out a piece of clothing and held it out in front of her. Then she went over to a standing mirror in one of the corners, finally letting him see reflected in the mirror what she had pulled out of the wardrobe. It was a green, long dress. Her head was bowed, looking down on the dress, not looking at her reflection, her hair falling over her face.

"Mira, you should put that back," he said.

Riddle to solve or not, he wanted to get out of here – if only for her mental stability.

"Isn't it nice?" she said, obviously not listening to him at all, with a voice not quite her own.

When she finally turned around to him he instantly regretted that he had wished for it a moment ago. What looked at him made him jump back almost as mortified as he had been earlier when hearing her voice behind him. She had lifted her head and stared straight at him, and even after blinking once or twice he was not quite sure if he had only imagined what he had seen a second ago. Now her face was her own again. But, just for the fracture of a second, not she but someone – _something_ – else had stared back at him, a white, hollow face with dark and empty eye-sockets. Almost like a skull. Had it just been the shadows playing tricks on him? Must be.

"What is it?" Mira asked, sounding a bit more like herself again – and then sneezed. "Excuse me. God is that old thing dusty."

"Bless you," he said, still absolutely dumbfounded, and watched as she threw the dress carelessly on the bed and then walked over to the window. "Just- I- For a moment I thought- Well, nothing. Forget it."

He still wasn't over the fact that he was so obviously hallucinating and without any real explanation for it. Well, actually it were pseudo-hallucinations, as he was aware of the fact that it wasn't real. Well, almost. Not quite. He had believed the woman had been Mira, until he had heard her voice from behind, so that would pass as an actual hallucination.

"Come on," he said, "We're almost back at the main hall. Lets go-"

But she again didn't listen. Instead she reached for the handle and opened the window. It creaked protestingly in its hinges, but it swung open. A breeze of cold air came in, playing with her hair.

"Fresh air, certainly helps with the dust," he continued, "But now lets go, come on!"

He turned around, hearing her shuffling at the window. "Yes, close the window, we won't leave a mess and then-"

He could feel that something was not quite right. He couldn't say what or why he turned around to her again, but when he did he saw her climbing right up the windowsill and then leaning forward.

"NO!"

* * *

 _Mira_

"What in hell is the matter now?" she yelled as she suddenly found herself wrapped tightly in his arms, fighting for her balance as he tried to drag her along. "Let go-" she yelled but broke into a scream as she managed to get a glimpse at his face – well, at least she had thought it was him all along. But now she stared into dark, empty eye-sockets in a white, weirdly hollow face and she quickly closed her eyes and started to hit and kick only to get out of this monsters grip, but all her attempts were to no avail, her arms were pinned to her sides as it obviously was much stronger than she.

"Mira, it's me! Stop hitting me, please. What's wrong?"

She recognised the voice, but she also knew what she had seen. A feeling of utter panic crept up her throat, chocking her, drowning out any rational thought she might have been able to come up with.

"Mira, stop it, please. Look at me- Ouch! That was my shin! Stop kicking me, please!"

She heard the words but all she could think of was this horrible face she had started into a moment ago, and only when she felt a familiar and calming presence touching her mind she stopped kicking whoever was holding her; even though she did not dare to look up.

"It's me," the voice repeated. "Just look at me, please."

"No! Let go of me," she said, remembering all to well what she had just seen.

"Only if you promise me you're not heading for the window again! Come on, open your eyes, please."

"What!?" she said, and, more out of surprise than a conscious decision her eyes flew open and she dared to shoot a quick look at his face.

This time she met dark eyes instead of empty eye-sockets, eyes which were anything but empty. His face was also back to normal again.

"What did you see?" he asked quietly, his arms still wrapped around her.

"What?"

"When you looked at me and started screaming, what did you see?"

"Your face...," she replied slowly, "It looked different. Somehow... I don't know, probably just the shadows in here."

"Dark, empty eye-sockets? Pale and hollow?" he asked, something in his voice making her shiver.

"Yes, why- And why are you holding me like that?"

"You were about to jump out of the window."

"What? Why would I do that?"

"I don't know, you tell me. I watched you getting that dress from the wardrobe, and then, without any explanation you just walked over to the window and started to climb on the windowsill-"

"What?" she said and looked around herself. They were back in the bedroom, the wardrobe was open and there was a dress lying on the bed. The window was open, cold night-air coming in.

"We were standing in that small library, looking at the painting, and suddenly you grabbed me as if there's no tomorrow!"

"You don't remember anything?" he asked, finally letting her out of his grip, but still holding onto her hand.

She shook her head and walked over to the window, he following her, slowly looking down. It was higher than she had thought; sure, it was the first floor, but the courtyard she was looking at must be slightly beyond ground level. It was paved; she would have seriously injured herself when jumping down, if not died. And she couldn't remember a thing of what had been going on the last minutes.

"By the way, sorry for kicking you," she said slowly, "I didn't mean to, but-"

Suddenly the ceiling was shaking under heavy footsteps. It also sounded like there were steps down the hallway, but she wasn't certain of it.

"Is there someone?" the Doctor whispered.

"I don't know," she replied, fear clouding her mind, making it impossible for her to tell if there was another living being somewhere near. "And honestly, I don't care. Run!"

And so he did, still holding her hand and pulling her with him, all the way back to the door leading to the entrance hall. She did not dare looking back even once – but she _knew_ that something was close behind her, only waiting for her to stumble or waste time in looking back so it could catch up and grab her.

* * *

 _Doctor_

"It's locked!" he yelled after trying the front-door. He was certain he hadn't locked it when coming in, and neither had Mira – but frankly, he didn't care much about how it got locked right now. More important was to unlock it.

"Deadlocked!" he added after trying it with his Sonic.

"What?!" Mira yelled, "How-"

Her voice was drowned by another violent rattling of the door leading to the west wing. Seemed whatever had followed them through the hallway was determined to break through the door. For a moment they stared at each other and he saw the panic in her eyes – panic he could feel himself now, a feeling that – at least for him – was totally inappropriate in this situation. But he couldn't help it. He had tried it the whole time, but in vain.

He was pushed aside by Mira who tried the door herself now. "Locked!" she said disbelievingly. "The windows!" she added.

Next thing he saw was her climbing up the windowsill, searching for something at the sides of the massive windows. "Is there a handle?" she asked him. "Can you see a handle anywhere?"

"No," he said slowly, "There's no handle."

"What?"

"Maybe there's another door somewhere... They must have a back-door!"

"Do I look like I've time to search for another door?" she yelled at him, and another banging on the doors leading to the wings convinced him that he didn't file like searching for a back-door either.

"Maybe I can break the glass with the Sonic..." he said and knocked against it. It felt weirdly solid. "But it may take some time..."

Meanwhile, Mira had jumped off the windowsill and was shuffling around behind is back.

"Step aside!" he heard not a moment later, just as he was the glass poking with the Sonic Screwdriver.

"What? Why, I-"

"Get out of the way! NOW!"

He jumped aside, turning around. She had grabbed a big footstool in both hands making him realise what she was about to do.

"Don't, it'll-"

"Step aside!" she repeated, swinging the stool behind herself, gathering momentum so she could throw it with more force.

He jumped further aside and, as the stool went flying past him, he hurried to get behind her. To his surprise it not only went right into one of the lower parts of the window – but right through it. He had halfway expected it to bounce back, but the glass shattered and splinters and shards went flying with a loud clinking sound. Only an instance later Mira was removing some of the larger shards still sticking to the lower frame and the beams separating the massive window with a poking stick.

"Come," she said, "Let's get out!"

He didn't need any more of an invitation, and a moment later they both went through the broken window, jumping down the five foot to the ground, glass shards scrunching under their feet as they landed.

He looked around and found the area bathed in moonlight, as they clouds had vanished by now. It was still stormy though, and as he wanted to turn around to look at the house again, Mira took his hand and pulled him with her.

Well, he didn't feel like staying any longer anyway. They ran all the way back to the TARDIS and once their, he hurried to unlock the door. Once inside, Mira slammed it shut, locking it from the inside and then, her back leaning against it, sliding to the floor. He sat down next to her, and for a while they just tried to catch their breath. Well, Mira more than him, so he tried to make sense of what had just happened.

"What was that, for all planets?" Mira finally said, her head turned to him.

"I... I don't know," he said with a frown on his face. "Happens rarely enough, but I actually don't know."

"Bloody hell," she replied and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Sorry, but that's all I can think of. We're definitely not going back there."

"Well...," he said, stretching the word, causing her to lift her head for a moment, staring at him. "Maybe later? When the sun's up?"

She just sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder again.

"Fancy a tea?"

"Only if there's a good shot alcohol in it," she replied.

 **...**

"We should really go back and take some scans," he said, "Just to prove my theory. Not that I think it's wrong, but still, we-"

"What theory?" Mira said and looked up. "Thought you have no idea what was going on in there."

She was holding a cup in both of her hands and the strong smell of the whisky he had put in it filled the room. The bottle was still on the table, a rather old one he thought he'd never open as he normally wasn't that into alcohol, at least not in his current regeneration. Robert Burns had given it to him once, and it had been old already back then.

"That was like twenty minutes ago," he replied indignantly. "But now I think you were just influenced by the building itself. Somehow it was built on a strong, naturally occurring energy source, five or probably even six dimensional. Somehow it acts a s an accumulator for everything which has happened in this it. You were just sort of reading, or receiving, it. I mean, you are definitely sensitive to time and-"

"Oh, finally admitting it?"

"-and not only that, but also to other multi-dimensional energy sources, like the universe itself, and if a house or something else is build in a place where probably even multiple streams of those energies intersect, they will get influenced and charged by whatever happened. Acting like film in a camera, if you want to use that overly simplified image, and with a rather simple brain as the human brain, most of all not made for interpreting stuff like that, you might have misinterpreted some of these things, leading to-" he stopped at the look which had grown on her face. "You don't believe me?"

"Does that explain the rattling and banging sounds?" she replied. "We saw the doors moving. And, most of all, you experienced the same stuff with your not-so-simple, non-human brain."

"Uhm, well-"

"And you were on the verge of panicking. How so if you should be able to interpret it properly?"

"I wasn't panicking!"

"You were. Don't ask me how, but I do know. Something is definitely going on between us, and even though I'm still not able to read your emotions as I am with others, you're not a complete black box to me any more either. So I'm afraid but I think your theory is not quite working out. And yes, just for the records, you _were_ panicking as well," she said and blinked at him teasingly.

"You might have influenced me," he said, trying to defend his theory. Not that he didn't like whenever she was opposing him, in fact it was one of the things he so loved at her, but now he was desperately trying to find an explanation. "I mean, you are right, something has changed between us," he added, deeply in thoughts. And he had no idea what and why, nor had he been able to tell where this all was heading, and it probably was much more than he had bargained for in the first place, but he didn't regret a thing. Even more so after having been human for a while, understanding what it meant for them to be in love with someone, and then being close to her in a not so new way for him, and yet entirely different from what he had occasionally done with other humans before – maybe there was a deeper, subconscious connection between them, one he wasn't entirely aware of just yet.

"That still doesn't explain everything we saw," she replied. "Assuming we didn't hallucinate. I mean, don't get me wrong, the theory of buildings and structures somehow storing images and even emotions of what had happened within their walls is actually a rather common theory to explain ghost phenomenons, but frankly, whatever happened in there goes a bit beyond that in my opinion. What about the two rooms? The one you said was mirrored? Seems like they weren't two different rooms after all."

Well, there went his theory.

"Fine, I can't explain that," he said defeatedly. "Yet. Oh! At least whoever pulled your hear was not a ghost!"

"What?"

"It was me!"

"Yes, but the first time you weren't in the room with me, so- Oh. Seriously?"

"That backs up my theory about recording things. Probably it works backwards in time as well. There was no ghost behind you, it was me, accidentally pulling your hair. My future me. Well, future me at this time, now it's my past-future me, so-"

"Still doesn't make any more sense to me, I'm afraid. But I really have enough for today," she said and yawned. "Good night."

* * *

 _Mira_

It was broad daylight, puddles gleaming in the sun. The air was cool but not too cold; all in all a rather pleasant day. He had finally managed to convince her to go back to the house, just to have a look at it, not to set a foot inside. And yes, it was nagging at her as well, and now, with the sun out and some hours past - she almost thought herself foolish to freak out like she had when running down the hallway towards the exit – thinking something was behind her. She had been freaked out to no end, but certainly nothing had been hunting them, had there? She only hoped they wouldn't run into someone holding them responsible for the smashed window – a smashed window which didn't look that smashed any more she had to admit as they were approaching the house. The windows were gleaming in the sunlight, and they seemed to be unbroken. Actually, the whole house did look much brighter, much more inviting and not at all creepy any more.

"Someone did repair the window," the Doctor said as they were merely ten feet away.

"I don't think so," she replied. "When? Last night in the dark? You're sure it's the same time?"

"Yup," he said. "We stayed in place with the TARDIS the whole night."

"But I did smash the window, didn't I?"

"You did, I saw it. We jumped down," he replied. "Maybe it was the left one?"

"That's not broken either," she said and rolled her sleeve up. "I cut myself on a shard," she continued, and indeed, the cut was still there. "See?"

"Ouch! Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's just a cut, that's w-" she stopped as the Doctor, who had been gazing through the window, suddenly ducked. "What?"

"Someone's home!"

"What? No one's living here! It was all dusty and stale and-"

 _We left quite a mess_ , she was about to add, as the door swung open. An old man, maybe in his late seventies looked at them, the very picture of an English gentlemen. Human, as far as she could tell.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Oh-"

"Uhm-"

They both stuttered, until she finally found her words again. "I'm so sorry. We didn't know someone's actually living here! We would have never stared in your windows otherwise-"

"Yeah," the Doctor added, "Sorry. It's such a lovely house, and-"

"We'll be on our way. Sorry again," she added and pulled him with her down the way through the park.

As they were around a bend and out of sight of the house, she said, "That was the man on the painting. With the woman in the green dress. That was him, I swear!"

"I know," he replied.

"He's human – well, at least he's very good at pretending that he is," she added.

"Is he?"

They were walking in brooding silence for a moment, then she said, "You know what? Sometimes you just have- If you can't explain certain things, you- You just have..."

"Just have to accept them?" he helped her out.

"Yes. Yes, that's what I'm trying to say. Let's just never talk about the last twenty-four hours again, okay? At least not in public."

"Okay," he agreed. "Fine with me. Let's go and pick up Martha."

* * *

 _Arashi – IV of VI, oXxgeorgiaxXo, heroherondaletotherescue, E-man-dy-S, OneWhoReadsToMuch, bored411, MiaEther: Thanks for leaving a review :-)_


	94. Chapter 94 - Blink

**Chapter XCIV**

 _Mira_

It was nineteen-sixty-nine. Again. But this time they weren't here by choice, nor somewhere in the US to watch a rocket launch. The Angels had the TARDIS, and they had spent the last days leaving the traces for Sally Sparrow to find so they could get the TARDIS back.

She had no idea how he did it – or how much he himself new of the oncoming events, as he pulled a sheet of paper from the depths of his pockets, telling them what to do. Nor did she know why he hadn't prevented all this from happening in the first place. She had a feeling about it, merely an intuition, but nothing she would act upon.

At the same time, and probably for the first time really, even after having been in his mind, she realised the extend of his abilities. Sure, he had the script telling him what to do, but that was only half of it. She knew he could see it all, timing their steps just right, leaving the traces just in the right spots, knowing what this Sally would do, think and say. She had not been aware how much he was holding himself back all the time, and she couldn't help to feel almost like an ant compared to him. Not only she herself, but humanity as a whole compared to his people, and it made her shiver to think about the time-war and how a species like this, with literally time and for this the very essence of the universe itself at their hands, could lose it – and what did that say about the Daleks? Sure, they had lost as well, but still.

After everything was done, they had nothing to do but to wait – the Doctor, using his psychic paper, got them a nice hotel room on the top of a high rise building in central London. Actually it was more of a suite with two separate bedrooms, a living area and a lovely, huge bathroom.

"Well, I don't know, at least they don't kill their victims," Martha said as they were sitting together in the living area of the suite.

"So you'd rather live in the past, suddenly, forced, with just the clothes you're wearing right now, then being dead instantly?" she asked, being aware that it was a rather theoretical question – who wouldn't prefer anything else above death?

"Oh, if it's for me, they could just leave them in peace, but that's not going to happen," Martha replied. "Doesn't make it any better, but I guess I could adapt...," she added and trailed off for a moment. "You did, didn't you? It was the future though, but still. At least you didn't lose all technical devices and stuff. Think it's pretty hard to do everything by hand again. And the medical advantages, don't even want to think of surgery without anaesthesia."

"Yeah, there were aliens and spaceships, so at least something I guess," she replied with a lob-sided smile. "Just don't underestimate what it means to lose everything – not just your friends, personal belongings, but also your whole cultural background. I never quite realised how many times we refer to recent or past events in our daily speech. How much really is about living in the same times, with the same past and the same time-frame means for a group of people. And how alienating it is to miss the last four-hundred-something years."

"But you had your father at least, hadn't you?" Martha asked.

"Uhm... yeah, didn't know that it was my father back then though," she replied.

"But you have his name?"

"Yes, I adopted it after a while – I had to assume a new name anyway, just to prevent people digging in my past. Not that I'd minded it – but I wasn't keen on it either, so we decided that's the best way. First it was Mira van Dyke, and then later he said it would be great if I want to adopt his name. So I did."

"But how did the two of you find out?" Martha asked.

"Well, you remember _It_? It told him. Him, not me, of course, and I'm never too sure if it's because of its weird sense of humour or some more serious reason. Well, it took half a year of so till we finally came clear."

 _~ Terrania, Earth, 2nd of February, 2388 AD ~_

 _It had been three days since she had seen her psychiatrist about her issues with sleeping – or rather had she seen him so that everyone would stop nagging her about getting help. It had been his stupidity to leave his terminal unlocked whilst leaving the room to answer some important call. And, of course, she had had to look at it. Once she noticed that her file was opened it had only taken a moment to copy the contents to her comm-device. She couldn't really tell why she had done it – out of sheer curiosity or the nagging feeling of being lied to, being betrayed, a feeling she had no idea where it was coming from. But then, later as she was reading it in her flat, everything had fallen into place. She had not fully understood everything, even though she knew by then about the concept of mutants and psychic abilities, but she had never expected that she might be one of them. And that she, as an empath, was able to sense other people's emotions. Sure, she had wondered all her life why she was so weird at times, why she had always known when there was something wrong with someone, but no one seemed to care about her own feelings. Nor had she understood why they were constantly talking about their feelings as they did. But now it all became clear to her. Oh, and there was something about even more psychic abilities in it – at least now she knew why the telepaths couldn't read her mind._

 _Yet that wasn't the most shocking part of it – they had kept it from her intentionally. Upon orders from the Grand Administrator of the Solar Empire himself, Perry Rhodan._

 _She had wanted to confront him immediately, getting some – hopefully good – answers from him. He with his constant talking about honesty and that she could trust him and blah blah blah. But he had not been on Earth, and not expected back within the next three days. Days she spent sleeping even less, hardly eating and getting more and more enraged about it._

 _Finally, when he was back, she basically stormed into his office on a late evening._

" _Mira," he said and lifted his head, "You wanted to talk to me? Something important?"_

" _You could say so," she said, thumping the print-out on the desk he was sitting at and working on something._

" _What is that?" he asked and grabbed the plastic sheets, confusion written all over his face._

 _Actually, not only over his face. Oh, if she had only known. She watched how realisation dawned on his face._

" _Where did you get that from?" he asked sternly._

" _Does it matter?" she replied, standing in front of his desk, her arms crossed, shivering over her whole body._

 _He looked down at the sheets again, putting them carefully back on the desk._

" _More important though, why do you know what's in there?" she asked, unable to hold herself back any longer. She had hardly ever felt so hurt, so betrayed, so powerless and at someone's mercy as these days. "Does such a thing as medical discretion not exist any more here? What else do you know about my medical history, hm?"_

" _Mira, why don't you sit down? We can discuss everything, but-"_

" _I don't want to sit down!"_

 _If he would only stop staring at her like that. With this calm, confident and slightly lenient look in his grey eyes as if there was nothing for her to say that would cause him to lose his composure._

" _Fine," he replied. "I'm really sorry, but someone had to make a decision. And I thought it's best for you to just find some time to... arrive. Acclimatise. Later there would have been enough time to get to all the rest, and-"_

" _Fuck you! You don't get it, do you? It's not on you to decide! It's not even on you to know, because it is_ none of your business _!" she yelled at him, not caring too much to whom she was speaking to right now. Not that she cared about much these days anyway._

" _To be fair, it was pretty clear once Gucky told me you were essentially blocking his telepathic abilities, that you're a mutant, and-"_

" _Oh, so he lied to me as well? Great, just great."_

" _Yes, because I asked him to."_

" _Asked? You mean,_ ordered _? So you – and probably everyone else but me – knew it the whole bloody time? Oh, and it obviously didn't occur to him to tell me first and not you?"_

" _Mira, we had to know how far your abilities go, if they might pose a threat to-"_

" _WHAT? A threat? Seriously?" she laughed hysterically. "And that gives you the right to decide over my life like that? For_ months _now? What sort of totalitarian regime is this? Must be build on very shaky ground then if-"_

" _Mira, that's enough!" he interrupted her and stood up._

" _Oh, hit a nerve?" Well, maybe there was something getting to him after all._

" _I said we can talk about it, but honestly I don't think that right now you're in the condition to do so. Why-"_

" _So now you're questioning my sanity? Well that fits in."_

" _I am not questioning your sanity," he said. "I'm only saying that right now is probably not the time to discuss such matters. Have you looked at yourself recently? When have you slept the last time? You're shaking all over! I'm really worried, so-"_

" _Oh for God's sake! Spare me your worries. Wasn't just enough worry to not lie to my face the whole time, was it?"_

" _Mira, I told you, I had my reasons. And I wasn't aware that it is obviously that important to you, so-"_

" _Oh, really, you couldn't know? I guess that essentially pretty much boils it down, doesn't it? You do not know me!" she yelled, emphasising every single word of her last sentence. "You have no bloody idea who I am, how my life has been so far, nor what's important to me or anything like it! I haven't talked to you about any of these things. I don't even want you to know and most of all I don't want you in my life! One more time, to get it clear: I don't know you. And neither do you know me. So what do you think gives you the right to decide if and when I am allowed to know things that concern me and only me?"_

 _For a moment she stared at him in silence, trying to catch her breath and finally stop shaking, but in vain. Hell, she knew she was absolutely rattled and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and she also knew that he could see it._

 _She watched him walking around his desk, realising how much this massive, somehow antique, desk hat not only physically kept him at distance, but also at a more metaphysical level. Even now, raging and, as she later learned, in the middle of a full blown manic phase, triggered by the chronic lack of sleep and the mental stress during those last months, she found his mere presence intimidating, wishing he would have stayed behind the desk. But she would not back down. Not now, not this time._

 _He leaned heavy against the desk with his back, his arms crossed, looking down as if considering what to say next._

 _She tried to figure out how he was feeling. It was a whole new thing she had discovered over the last days. She still had no idea how it was working nor did she trust in this newly found ability, still somehow believing she was just making stuff up, but it seemed to be there. And not just in her imagination. There was something, but she was way to confused to sort it. It would take her a few more years to get her abilities to the point where they were now._

" _I guess I see your point," he finally said carefully, looking at her again. "And I can't undo what has happened. You're right, we need to get to know each other, so what if we try it again with being honest this time?"_

 _And there and then any hint of restraint, of intimidation and fear of backing down went out of the window. She couldn't even say what annoyed her the most, his willingness to talk to her in a reasonable way; even after all she had said, or his diplomatic way of telling her that he still didn't consider her quite in her right mind right now, or her inability to tell both possibilities apart._

" _Honest? How do you expect me to trust you ever again after this? How am I supposed to know what else you're keeping from me?" she said and stepped back. "With all the best intentions, of course," she added, her voice drenched in cynicism._

 _And there it was. A change in his face, and she could feel something, filling the space between them like a solid wall, a feeling of strong unease coming over her, choking her, turning her blood to ice. Much later she should learn that this is exactly how it feels when someone was about to get caught red-handed, and yet hoping to be able to further deny it._

" _Is there more you're keeping from me? And don't you dare lying to me now."_

" _Mira, please, we can talk about everything later. This is really not the right moment now."_

" _At least something we agree on," she said quietly. "That's indeed not the right moment. And I'm afraid it will never come, for it has passed when you discovered whatever it is now."_

" _What?"_

" _You've understood me very well. Keep it to yourself, I don't care. It's too late now, you had your chance. You see that door? When I walk out there, that's it. I'll do what I should have done the moment I came here. Live my life on my own again. And I don't want to see you ever again. I never wanted to be here in the first place, and I don't owe you or anyone else a thing. I'm done! And don't you think I don't have a plan. If I have to leave Earth or even the Solar System, I don't care."_

 _She was surprised about how calm her voice had sounded, but then again, it was true – she had had three days to work things out, and was in the – for once in a cynical way pleasant – situation of having nothing left to lose._

 _He must have realised that as well, because as she turned around she felt his hand on her arm._

" _Don't touch me!" she yelled and flung around, ready to slap his hand away, but he had already backed away. "And don't try to stop me."_

" _I- I won't. Just listen. There's no need to hurry. Let us talk tomorrow, when you've had some rest."_

" _Forget it."_

" _Please, Mira, it's important. When we've talked and you still want to leave I won't keep you, I promise."_

" _Important for what? Your consciousness?" she spat, yet feeling weirder and weirder each moment. She somehow wanted to know, and yet she was almost scared. Or was it him who was scared? She couldn't tell. "And why would I trust your promises?"_

" _Important for us. I may have made mistakes – but give me a chance to explain before you walk out of that door."_

" _Fine," she said, "Go on then. I honestly don't want to hear it, but you won't leave me alone, will you?"_

 _All she wanted right now was getting out of here, away, somewhere, anywhere, but deep down inside she knew there was no place in this whole universe that would feel like home to her, or safe, ever again. But at least she could chose the people around her, gaining back some sort of control._

" _Let's sit down," he said, pointing to a seating arrangement._

" _Seriously? Just say it," she said, but something in his eyes made her walk over to one of the chairs._

 _He sat down opposite of her, watching his hands for a long moment, seemingly gathering his thoughts. Her heart was beating in her chest like crazy, and for a moment she thought about just jumping up and running for the door – why would she care what he would think._

" _I- Mira, whatever you may think once you- I didn't do it for... well- It was just my decision, and-"_

" _What?"_

" _And if you then hate me more than you probably already do, I can understand that, but please-"_

" _What is it?"_

 _He sighed and tried to evade her eyes for a moment, before looking back at her. "I- I am your father."_

 _For a moment there was nothing but static noise filling her head. Not a single thought was forming, and even though she had heard the words, they didn't make any sense. And yet it felt as if he had just pulled the rug out from under her feet._

" _What?"_

" _It's true," he said quietly. "You're my daughter, and-"_

" _Fuck you," she said just as quietly. "That's impossible."_

" _No," he replied, shaking his head. "I was born in nineteen-thirty-six. I- I remember her. Your mother. It's not impossible. I can give you proof if you-"_

" _Keep your proof, I don't want to see it," she said in lack for anything better._

 _As she stared into his eyes it was as if looking into a mirror, and the scales fell from her eyes. She wouldn't go as far as to say she looked a lot like him, but she definitely had his eyes. Eyes which didn't look much like her mother's nor her father's. She couldn't stand to sit opposite to him any more, so she jumped up._

" _And I don't want to hear of it ever again. Why in hell did you tell me right now of all times? What's that supposed to be? Revenge for the 'totalitarian regime'? Congratulations on that one then. How long do you know it?" She asked, afraid her words would turn into sobs, and she could already guess the answer – and was not so sure that she wanted to hear it._

 _Well, at least that answer he spared her, but the look he gave her spoke volumes. "Do you really believe that's what it is? Revenge for what you said to me?"_

" _What else? Or why on Earth tell me just now? You could have just let me walk out here, and keep it to yourself..." Her legs were no longer supporting her so she collapsed on the small couch on the other end of the room, burying her face in her hands. She heard his steps through the room and then felt him sitting down next to her._

" _That's not how it is," he sad slowly._

" _No?" she asked, trying to keep herself from starting to sob, putting her hands away from her face – she found it hard enough to get enough air anyway right now._

" _I wanted to tell you. I just- I thought there will be a right moment sometime... I guess I was afraid."_

" _Afraid? Afraid? You? Seriously? Whatever. I need to get out of here," she said and tried to get up._

 ** _..._**

"I don't know much of what happened next," she said and shrugged. "I woke up in hospital."

"Ouch," Martha said, compassion on her face. "Not exactly how you want to find out things like that, huh?"

"Well, honestly, I still don't approve of him keeping all of it to himself, but probably better to tell me back then then to let me walk out this door. I had things planned out – Who knows what trouble I'd have gotten myself into. I guess he was aware of that – telling me even though I was already pretty much done when I first walked into his office. But he has a way of handling people. Even young me who thought I know everything and everyone else knows nothing." She cracked a smile. "But that's just who he is. Always feeling responsible for everything, and sometimes forgetting about that not everything is his problem. Though I'm not sure he would behave like that again right now. We all grew older since then."

"But still," Martha said, "He should have been honest from the beginning."

"Yes, but you have to know that he had a son, and things did not work out well. I can understand why he did what he did. But that's another story."

"And then how did you end up in this Mutant Corps and the Solar Fleet? I wanted to ask you since we were in that school, but there was really no time. If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Nah, I don't mind," she replied. She was actually glad, at least right now, that she could tell it to someone. It seemed more real then, less like a story, she herself felt less story-like and more substantial in some weird way. "Well, we worked out our differences eventually. We're not that different after all. Just in some parts, but then again, not that much. And probably it was also me finally growing up. I mean, all that hippie and pacifism thing is fine, but hardly stands up against reality. Not that there is anything essentially wrong with pacifism," she added as she felt the Doctor's look on her. "But it just doesn't work very well if not everyone is as pacifistic as you are. I took a look at humanity's history; they had been _forced_ to fight. Not that we willingly attacked our neighbours. It was either that or getting killed, and with it all our ideals. Anyway, I think everyone has to answer this question for themselves – fighting for your believes and somehow betraying them, or stick to them and let them go down with you. Because the winner seldom cares about your high believes afterwards. And, even back then, in the more expansive times of the Solar Empire, we never fought wars for the sake of fighting and conquering."

 _~ Terrania, Earth, 17th of August, 2399 AD ~_

 _She stood in front of the large window in her flat in Antares-City, district of Terrania, where she had moved to not quite two years ago. It was a beautiful huge flat almost on the very top of one of the round, over two-hundred meters high, round buildings, taking up half of the story with a lovely huge balcony which was almost a garden. Space hadn't been an issue then in Terrania, and the architects had long since recognised that you could not store living beings in flats hardly larger than shoe-boxes. At this time she had had no idea that not quite forty years later this building, along with Terrania and most other bigger cities in the Solar System, would get destroyed -if asked she would have denied the very possibility that anything could attack the Solar System and manage to reach Earth – and destroy a good part of the surface, taking countless lives._

 _But just now she was only a few hours away of taking the oath on the Solar Empire to become an official member of the Mutant Corps and, in some way, the Solar Fleet._

 _She watched her reflection as she plucked critically at the close-fitting uniform. It still did not feel quite right; probably just because the pastel-green uniform was so different from her usual black clothes. She couldn't help it, but she looked so_ formal _in it, so_ official _._

" _Well, that's the point of a uniform, isn't it?" her father, who who had been sitting in one of the comfortable chairs in her living area replied after she had voiced her issues, got up and stepped behind her. "Stop plucking at it, it looks fine."_

" _That's not the problem," she replied, pulling a face to the mirror and sighed. "I don't know."_

" _You're not getting cold feet, do you?" Atlan asked, in his usual, mockery way._

 _Atlan, one of her father's oldest and closest friends, didn't move from his chair as he watched her out of his deep red eyes, making her blush. She always felt a bit self-conscious when he was looking at her like this. Well, he was an attractive man, attractive and charming, even though looking a bit alien with his white hair, red eyes yet slightly tanned skin, clearly setting him apart from humans with albinism. Well, he actually_ was _an alien. Not that she minded it – she minded much more that he was so much older than herself. She was also sure he was flirting with her occasionally, but then again, he found a nice word for all women he was talking to. So no reason to let it get to her head. The reason for him being here was, as he had put it, he wouldn't miss the opportunity to finally join the Mutant Corps, and for that a rather military organisation, for anything in the universe. And yes, she couldn't blame him for it, remembering all to well the countless discussions they had had over the last years – she would consider him a good friend by now, although a rather attractive friend nevertheless. And yet it was so out of question to even think about it. He was so much older than she – and immortal. And she certainly didn't want to grow old and wrinkly at his side. Apart from that he, him being such a close friend to her father – even a blind man would be able to see the problems arising out of this looming on the horizons._

" _What if I'm getting cold feet?" she asked quietly and more seriously than she had intended to. "I mean, it's quite a commitment, isn't it?"_

" _And that didn't occur to you during the last years of training?" he replied, a lob-sided smile on his face._

" _You probably can't imagine, but it actually occurred to me little barbarous human," she replied in the same mockery tone. "But right now – well, it's suddenly a bit more... real."_

" _You're not planning to run off, do you?" her father fell in._

" _No! Just let me have some doubts, will you? Both of you!"_

 _Oh well, had she only known how the evening would end, maybe she would have done just that. Even though, when asking around, most people would have strongly disagreed about running off when one was offered immortality on a silver plate, so to speak._

 _The ceremony itself was rather unspectacular, even though the whole corps was gathered, along Perry, Atlan and even Bully had made it. John Marshall, who had been head of the corpse back then, had her taken the oath, sign some paperwork, and afterwards they had went back to her flat for a few drinks and conversation, enjoying the time when most of them had managed to escape their duties. Then, literally out of thin air, she had heard the all to familiar laughter in her head, and shortly after that the well know shape appeared out of nowhere._ It, _the superior intelligence having once been an entire people, and now mere consciousness, leading not only humanities fate but the fate of this part of the universe. Well, more or less. Sometimes it was obviously not superior enough to not need humanities help._

 _And, before she could muster even one more or less witty sentence to comment his sudden appearance, he had the little egg-shaped cell-activator around her neck._

" _What? Wait!" she said as he was about to vanish again._

" _You always wanted an answer why you're here, didn't you? Well, that's it!" he said laughingly._

" _That's not an answer!" she replied. "Don't you dare vanish again! Why me?"_

 _But he – or rather it, even though even to her, who wasn't able to clearly see his face as it seemed to resemble a million faces at once, it seemed to be male, was gone already. She had tried to find an answer to this question ever since, but in vain. Sure, she had done some rather important things over the next centuries – some of which she was everything but proud of, and yes, she had prevented some bad decisions by being able to at least feel if it would end well or not – or what was meant to happen in the future, leaving them able to act accordingly. And she had given wanted and unwanted advice in all possible and impossible situations. But still, that was not reason enough to earn immortality, was it?_

 ** _..._**

Later she stood on the little balcony, looking over London. It was early morning, very early, hardly later than three o'clock; Martha was sleeping in her bed, pretty much like the whole city did at this early hour.

"You're not cold?" the Doctor asked quietly as he stepped out in the fresh night air behind her.

She felt him coming closer, putting his arms around her and she leaned against him. She still wasn't really used to this side of him; probably he neither. True, they had been as close as two people could get, long before they had spent that night together in an oh-so human way. Well, not only human way, but definitely not Time-Lord. She would have been fine without it though – rather than him doing something he wasn't into just to do her a favour. And even though it didn't seem as if it would repeat itself very often, just being close to him like she was right right now, not only mentally but physically, was such a wonderful thing – certainly it didn't take away all memories stirred up by her conversation with Martha, but at least gave her some sense of security and safety.

"We should talk to her," she broke the silence.

"Yes," he murmured. "To whom?"

She could almost feel the frown forming on his forehead, even without looking at him.

"Martha."

"Oh, yeah. About what? We're talking with her a lot actually."

"You know what I mean. Us."

"Why?"

"Oh come on. Try to see it from a human perspective, just for a moment. I know you can."

"Okay, but again, why? It's none of her business what's between us, as you would say."

"But it is. She has a crush on you, and she still thinks she has chances with you. And allowing her to go on believing that is not fair. I know how that feels, I hate it, and now I'm behaving just like it."

"But why does she have a crush on my? She said she's only into humans."

She sighed before responding, "She was flirting."

"Was she? Well, if you want to talk to her, then you probably should. Tomorrow... maybe," he replied and it was clear that it was her job because he had no intention of doing so.

Maybe. Oh hell, she really was quite like her father, even though she hated to admit it for this particular trade. Quite good at everything but personal issues – those mostly turned out to be even more disastrous after dealing with them with the best intentions.

* * *

 _Doctor_

He allowed himself to wallow a little in his new found ability to enjoy moments like this – when place and time didn't really matter, Mira, the one person who had become so important to him in such a short time, in his arms, nothing but peace around them, and not much to worry about. At least nothing that couldn't wait. He was sure Mira would talk to Martha, she was much better at these things than him anyway. Not even the fact that he had lost the TARDIS worried him too much – he was confident everything would work out just fine, and all they had to do now was to wait. It had worked out once, or it would – depending on one's point of view. No reason – or even possibility – for it to go wrong. So yes, he was on the verge of a serious attack of boredom, and he hated having to wait, but there had been some nice conversations with Martha about medicine, Mira had told some things from her life, they had even discussed some moral implications and stuff – as said, it had been nice, all in all.

"Say, do people ever really die for you?" he heard her asking.

"What? Well, that's a change of topic if I've ever seen one...," he replied.

"You know what I mean. Even when they die, you can always travel back and at least see them again, if not speak to them. So they are not _really_ dead, are they?"

"Well, I guess you could say so..."

"So, but as all time-streams more or less exist parallel, is anyone ever really dead?"

"Mira, why those questions now?"

"Don't know, I've thinking about that for a long time now. They aren't, are they?"

"Well, technically, in their time-stream, they are."

"But that's only fur us then, isn't it? For us, trapped in one time-stream, forced to move forwards and only forwards. But not for you. So are they not rather out of our reach than dead?"

"But where's the difference then?" he asked, growing more and more confused.

She was right, sort of. But what did it matter?

"Maybe it's easier to think someone is just gone, out of my reach, instead of... dead? I don't know. It just always confused me. How can we say someone is dead when – theoretically – we could travel back in time and see them again? They would heavily deny being dead... Sorry, I'm just ruining the moment, aren't I?"

"What? Oh, no, not at all. Well, actually yes, a bit. But never mind, it's okay," he replied.

She turned around to him, in her eyes countless unspoken questions – questions probably not even he could give an answer to.

"What do you think is the possibility that the speed of time in my universe is in sync with this one?"

"Mira, I don't know, and you know that," he replied quietly. "I would tell you if I knew, but I don't."

She leaned against him, burying her face against his chest.

"I just don't want to think they're all dead by now, I guess that's all. I just want them to happily go on living their lives, and I want to _know_ that they do so."

And he would really love to give her an answer, but that was something not even he could do. And, honestly, he didn't even think it made a big difference. Whether one could just not see someone any more, or they were really dead, one had to somehow live on with the whole they left. There was no way around it, no escape, no tricking oneself into believing that the loved one might return some day.

* * *

 _N/a: One of those chapters I would have normally skipped if it wasn't for the weeping angels and how important they get later on. (I like it, but not from a writer's point of view ;-) ) So I filled it with a bit of background. I hope it was not too boring; I know not everyone likes flashbacks._

 _E-man-dy-S, OneWhoReadsToMuch, heroherondaletotherescue, bored411, and unknown Guest: Thanks for leaving a review :)_

 _d0ct0rwh0l0ckf4n: Probably. It's a long way to 13 (all I can say now is that I wouldn't rule it out just because he's female then), so we'll see :-) I'll definitely start with 11 though, which wasn't planned at the beginning._

 _VileG: Thanks for taking the time to write that review. I somehow see your point, and I guess part of the problem is indeed that the only one really pro-active in Dr Who, even more so in the seasons with 10, is the Doctor himself. So I find it a bit hard to find the balance between Mira acting and not breaking too much of the stories, because they don't really leave much room for changes. Probably I'm just not trying hard enough and have to be a bit more open minded about changing the episodes and maybe even the outcome, getting out of my comfort zone. But I definitely got the same feeling whilst writing the last chapters – there's some action missing. Good to get it confirmed here.  
_ _But: Yes, she is quite outspoken, and yes, Perry Rhodan and humanity in that universe was and is more pro-active, but even he got a bit calmer over the years. I find it was really extreme in the earlier years, but later the Storm and Stress times are definitely over. They all got older in the end, and maybe that's just me trying to find a balance between her loose tongue and being so old and inevitably more reasonable and considerate.  
_ _Thanks anyway, I really thought about what you brought up the last day, and I'll hopefully find a way to have her being more pro-active, which I would be more satisfied with as well. Sometimes it just needs a little push from the outside I guess._


	95. Chapter 95 - Utopia Pt 1

**Chapter XCV**

 _Martha_

They had gotten the TARDIS back from the Angels, and if she had thought it was time for a bit of rest – even though they had spent some time waiting - the Doctor didn't lose much time. The moment they had opened the door he rushed over to the console, flipped some switches and the ship was moving.

"Cardiff," he said as she looked at him questioningly.

"Cardiff?" she asked.

"Cardiff in Wales? On Earth?" Mira added.

"Yes," he replied, hurrying around the console. "Ah, but the thing about Cardiff, it's built on a rift in time and space, just like California and the San Andreas Fault, but the rift bleeds energy. Every now and then I need to open up the engines, soak up the energy and use it as fuel."

"So it's a pit stop," she said and smiled at him.

"Exactly. Should only take twenty seconds. The rift's been active."

"Wait a minute," she said, remembering reports about some weird incidents there. "They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple of years ago. Was that you?"

"Bit of trouble with the Slitheen," he replied. "A long time ago. Lifetimes. I was a different man back then. You actually met him."

So he was talking about the man they had met on Ayxelurius? The man he had claimed to be a previous version of himself?

"Wait, who's that?" Mira, who had been looking at the small screen, asked.

"Finito. All powered up," the Doctor said, ignoring her question.

He pressed a few buttons, and the TARDIS started to dematerialise – but only moments later something blew up in the console, sparks flying around.

"Whoa! What's that?" she yelled.

The TARDIS was moving and shaking violently, and they all were holding on to the console.

"We're accelerating into the future," he replied disbelievingly. "The year one billion. Five billion. Five trillion. Fifty trillion? What? The year one hundred trillion? That's impossible."

"Why? What happens then?" she yelled over the engine's noise.

"We're going to the end of the universe," he replied, and the disbelieving tone in his voice did not make her feel more secure.

"Well then try to break before we go beyond the end of the universe," Mira said, and it was actually the first time she heard something remotely like panic in the other woman's voice.

But then, suddenly, everything went quiet again.

"Well, we've landed," the Doctor said breathlessly.

"Where?" Mira asked.

"Yeah, what's out there?" she added as he didn't reply.

"I don't know," he said eventually.

"Say that again. That's rare," she said after exchanging a look with Mira.

"Not even the Time Lords came this far. We should leave. We should go. We should really, really go."

"Yeah, let's leave," Mira said to him, but he was already heading for the door, a big grin on his face. "What!? Wait!" Mira yelled.

But, of course, he didn't stop. She stuck her head through the door, and then followed him outside, Mira behind her.

It was dark, and around them only rocks. Almost some sort of quarry. Then she saw the motionless figure lying on the ground, not far away from the TARDIS.

"Oh my God!", she yelled and ran over to him, checking for vital signs. "Can't get a pulse. Hold on. You've got that medical kit thing."

She jumped up and ran back to the TARDIS. It took only a few seconds to take it from the console room, and she rushed out again.

"You know him?" she heard Mira say, but didn't think about it too much.

"Here we go. Get out of the way," she said and pushed past between the Doctor and Mira. "It's a bit odd, though. Not very hundred trillion. That coat's more like World War Two," she added as she had a further look at the man.

"I think he came with us," the Doctor said in a strange, toneless voice.

"How do you mean, from Earth?" she asked.

"Must have been clinging to the outside of the Tardis all the way through the vortex. Well, that's very him," the Doctor replied.

"Well, for that he looks pretty good actually," Mira said.

"What?! He's dead!" She replied.

"Yeah, but have you ever seen someone killed by the vacuum of space? Not exactly a pleasant sight," Mira replied.

"Vortex, not vacuum," the Doctor corrected her.

"What's the matter with you two?" she yelled at them. "So you do know him?" she added, remembering what Mira had said a moment ago.

"Friend of mine. Used to travel with me, back in the old days."

"But he's...," she said after listening with a stethoscope at his chest, "I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat. There's nothing. He's dead."

Suddenly the man gasped and grabbed her, giving her the shock of her life, making her shriek.

"Oh, so much for me," she said, holding his shoulders. "It's all right. Just breathe deep. I've got you."

"Captain Jack Harkness," the man said, smiled at her and slightly touched her chin, – one of the nicest smiles she had seen for a while, especially for a dead man. "And who are you?"

"Martha Jones," she replied, blushing and smiling.

"Nice to meet you, Martha Jones"

"Oh, don't start," the Doctor said, still seemingly frozen to the spot.

"I was only saying hello," Jack protested.

"I don't mind," she hurried to say, helping Jack to stand up.

"Doctor," he said, facing him.

"Captain," the Doctor replied sternly.

"And who are you?" Jack continued, looking at Mira who was standing next to the Doctor, with the same bright smile on his face.

"Mira," she replied.

"Oh stop it!" the Doctor whined, but Mira ignored him completely.

"Actually, it's Major Mira Rhodan, Captain" she added.

"Oh, hello _Major_ ," Jack said with another irresistible smile, and saluted casually. Then he turned to the Doctor again, "Good to see you."

"And you," the Doctor replied. "Same as ever. Although, have you had work done?"

"You can talk," Jack said instead of answering his question.

"Oh yes, the face. Regeneration. How did you know this was me?"

"The police box kind of gives it away. I've been following you for a long time. You abandoned me."

"Did I? Busy life. Moving on."

"Just got to ask. The Battle of Canary Wharf. I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler."

"Oh, no! Sorry, she's alive."

"You're kidding."

"Parallel world, safe and sound. And Mickey, and her mother."

"Oh, yes!"

Then Jack went over to hug the Doctor.

What the hell was going on here, she asked herself. And what about Rose? Mira and the Doctor had spoken of her occasionally, she must have travelled with the Doctor before she had met him. She suddenly got the feeling she didn't really know the Doctor at all. She had been travelling with him, seen all these amazing things, but she didn't _know_ him.

 **...**

They had decided, now that they were here, to go and investigate a little. See what was going on on this peace of rock.

Jack had actually tried to start a conversation with Mira, but her replies had been short, if any. So he had resorted to telling her how he had met the Doctor – and lost him again.

"So there I was," Jack said, "stranded in the year two hundred one hundred, ankle deep in Dalek dust, and he goes off without me. But I had this." He showed some sort of bracelet. "I used to be a Time Agent. It's called a vortex manipulator. He's not the only one who can time travel."

"Oh, excuse me," the Doctor, walking a bit ahead of them, said indignantly. "That is not time travel. It's like, I've got a sports car and you've got a space hopper."

"What? You can time travel with this little thing? That's amazing!" Mira said, the first sentence with more than two words from her for quite a while.

"Amazing?" the Doctor yelled and turned around for a moment.

"Oh ho. Boys and their toys," she murmured.

"All right, so I bounced," Jack said. "I thought twenty-first century, the best place to find the Doctor, except that I got it a little wrong. Arrived in 1869, this thing burnt out, so it was useless."

"Told you," the Doctor commented dryly.

"I had to live through the entire twentieth century waiting for a version of you that would coincide with me," Jack continued.

"But that makes you more than one hundred years old," she said.

"And looking good, don't you think?" he said and smiled.

"So you're like Mira then?" she said before realising it. Oops.

"Why? What's Mira like?" Jack asked and looked over to Mira.

"Also a bit older than I look," Mira replied, hands stuffed in the pockets of her blue uniform jacket.

Did she sound a bit grumpy now?

"So I went to the time rift," Jack hurried to continue, "Based myself there because I knew you'd come back to refuel. Until finally I get a signal on this," he patted his backpack, "Detecting you and here we are."

"But the thing is, how come you left him behind, Doctor?" she asked, as this so didn't look like him.

"I was busy," he just replied.

"Is that what happens, though, seriously?" she asked. "Do you just get bored with us one day and disappear?"

"Not if you're blonde," Jack said.

"Blonde? Who was blonde?" she asked, looking back and forth between Mira and Jack, the nasty feeling of having missed something important, of having been left out gnawing at her.

"Rose. Rose was blonde," Mira said eventually.

"Though you missed out on some parts of the story, Jack," the Doctor added. "But seriously. We're at the end of the universe, all right? Right at the edge of knowledge itself and you're busy blogging! Come on."

"Busy blogging?" Mira repeated and stopped. "As you just said, we're at the end of the universe. Have you looked up? The sky is black. And for your information, not because it's a particularly cloudy night - God dammit, it's not even sure it's night at all - but because there just are no stars! The universe is as good as dead. There's not much left! That's why I try to keep myself busy _blogging_!"

The Doctor had stopped now as well, turned around and just stared at her.

"Whoa, let's not start a fight here, okay?" Jack tried to interfere.

"No-one's fighting," Mira said toneless and walked on again.

They followed her until they reached a cliff, where they all looked down. Some construction was down there, build into the very stone, but yet looking rather high tech and weirdly out of place.

"Is that a city?" she asked.

"A city or a hive, or a nest, or a conglomeration," the Doctor explained. "Like it was grown. But look, there," he pointed and she followed his finger with her eyes. "That's like pathways, roads? Must have been some sort of life, long ago."

"What killed it?" she asked quietly, realising for the first time how awfully quiet it was around them.

"Time. Just time," the Doctor replied sadly, looking at her with his huge dark eyes. "Everything's dying now. All the great civilizations have gone. Mira's right. This isn't just night. All the stars have burned up and faded away into nothing."

She shivered, even though it was not that cold. A sky without stars, without sun? How sad.

"They must have an atmospheric shell," Jack explained. "We should be frozen to death."

"Well, Mira, Martha and I, maybe. Not so sure about you, Jack."

Jack didn't reply, just shot the Doctor a look she could not interpret.

"What about the people? Does no one survive?" she asked.

"I suppose we have to hope life will find a way," the Doctor replied.

"Find a way?" Mira said. "Which way? How can anyone survive when the whole universe is dying? There is no way! If it's anything then the ultimate proof that everything's in vain in the end. No matter how hard we try, it will change nothing. There's no way around it. _This_ will always be the outcome. It's just so far ahead for us that we trick ourselves into believing we can actually make a difference. But in the grand scheme of things...," she paused and shrugged, "Well."

They all stared at her in astonished silence. True, Mira could be a bit dark and pessimistic at times, but that had been a whole new level, even for her.

"Well, he's not doing too bad," Jack finally broke the silence, pointing down.

She followed his finger with her eyes. A man was running through the city, followed by a group of people. Indistinct shouting reached her ears. All in all it was pretty clear what was going on.

"Is it me, or does that look like a hunt? Come on!" the Doctor said and ran off.

Moments later they had reached the man who ran towards them, yelling, "They're coming! They're coming!"

Jack stopped him and pushed him behind them, then he pulled a revolver out underneath his coat and aimed at the group of people.

"Jack, don't you dare!" the Doctor said, and after they exchanged a quick look, Jack fired into the air.

It was enough to make the group stop.

"What the hell are they?" she wanted to know.

"Not friendly, that's for sure," Mira replied, who had picked up some fist-sized stones, obviously to throw them at the group of people should they advance again.

"There's more of them. We've got to keep going," the man said, panic in his voice.

"I've got a ship nearby. It's safe. It's not far, it's over there," the Doctor said, pointing in the direction they had come from. But there were more of their enemies. "Or maybe not."

"We're close to the Silo. If we get to the Silo, then we're safe," the man said and looked at them.

"Silo?" the Doctor asked.

"Definitely Silo," Mira confirmed.

"Silo," Jack nodded.

"Silo for me," she said and off they ran.

* * *

 _Mira_

They had gotten into the Silo – but only after showing their teeth. She had no idea who those people were who had hunted them – Futurekind? They might have well been human once. Not that this did matter anything right now. Not that anything mattered much now – at least not to her. There was not much more than indifference filling her mind, a heavy, leaden indifference, slowly turning into something darker, emptier, just as the black sky was. She didn't even care much about Jack right now – had she tried to distract herself from her environment not too long ago by bantering with him and Martha, she now didn't even feel like fighting this weird mood she was in.

So this was the end then? Some refugee camp, a giant rocket, and for what? Sure, the universe would not end tomorrow, not even in a hundred years from now on, but in relation to the universe, the end was merely the blink of an eye away. So why bother?

She watched how the Doctor explained to someone what the TARDIS looked like whilst Martha asked some child which obviously was busy with organisational tasks how old it was – too young to work, but then again, this was a refugee camp, at least so it seemed, and not in any way different from any other refugee camp she had seen before. Smelly, and yes, everyone had to help out, even children, as hard as it might seem.

"It's like a refugee camp," Martha had finally realised it herself after they had been walking through the corridors for a while.

"Stinking," Jack added. "Oh, sorry. No offence. Not you," he hurried to say and smiled at a man they had passed.

"Don't you see that?" the Doctor said enthusiastically, "The ripe old smell of humans. You survived. Oh, you might have spent a million years evolving into clouds of gas, and another million as downloads, but you always revert to the same basic shape. The fundamental humans."

She just silently shook her head.

"End of the universe and here you are. Indomitable! That's the word. Indomitable! Ha!", he continued, nudging her and grinning.

"Great. And what for?" she murmured, but no one listened to her.

All attention was on the guy who had led them here and obviously had found his mother again.

"It's not all bad news," Martha said.

She only half listened to her, as Jack was just shaking the hand of a young man, saying, "Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?"

"Stop it," the Doctor, who was trying his Sonic Screwdriver on a door, told him. "Give us a hand with this. It's half deadlocked. I need you to overwrite the code. Let's find out where we are."

She watched as Jack and the Doctor opened the door, and then her heart almost stopped. The door led into nothingness, and Jack just grabbed the Doctor before he fell down.

"Gotcha," Jack said.

"Thanks."

"How did you cope without me?"

"Now that is what I call a rocket," Martha said.

She peered down as well, and indeed. A huge thing, and ugly as the sky was black. She honestly doubted that this thing would ever lift off. At least as long as they didn't have some really advanced engines. But she doubted they had anti-gravitational aggregates or even an impulse engine.

"They're not refugees, they're passengers," the Doctor said quietly.

"Same difference," she replied.

"He said they were going to Utopia," Martha said.

Utopia? Who had said something about Utopia? She really should listen better, she thought to herself.

"The perfect place. Hundred trillion years, it's the same old dream. You recognise those engines Mira?" the Doctor asked.

"No. Not that I can see much of them anyway," she said.

"Jack?"

"Nope. Whatever it is, it's not rocket science. But it's hot, though," Jack replied.

"Boiling," the Doctor said after they had shut the door again. "But if the universe is falling apart, what does Utopia mean?"

Before anyone could answer, an old man arrived, dressed in a whit shirt with wide sleeves and a waistcoat – he and his clothes looked weirdly out of place here.

"The Doctor?" he asked, looking at them.

"That's me!"

"Good! Good! Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good," he said repeatedly whilst dragging the Doctor away.

"It's good apparently," the Doctor said, looking back at them.

* * *

 _Jack_

He was walking behind Mira, deeply in thoughts. It was a shame that her long jacket didn't reveal that much of her certainly rather nicely looking backside. Not that he had any intentions to pitch someone else's girlfriend – or boyfriend for that matter, he added with a sad look at the Doctor's new body. But she was actually a beautiful woman, not just pretty or nice looking, and he could think of no reason not to look at her. A bit distant and cool in her looks maybe - with her grey eyes, the fair complexion and that slightly detached look in her eyes – even though he doubted she always had that negative look on her face. Maybe she had just gotten up on the wrong side of the bed today. He did not make the mistake though to confuse this slightly annoyed look with the air of... - yes, air of what exactly? - that was surrounding her.

Martha had pointed out that Mira was older than she looked like, which he didn't doubt – and certainly more than just the five or then years some women looked younger than they were - and if it was for him, he wasn't even sure she was human.

For a moment he had thought she was a time agent, but he had discarded that thought almost immediately. The jacket she was wearing looked suspiciously like a uniform, and he had never seen anything like it before – same went for the slightly harsh and yet not unpleasant accent in her English. She might have almost passed as a native speaker, her pronunciation quite close to RP or Oxford English, but not really like anything actually and widely spoken in the UK at, let's say, Rose's time. So no chance at telling which region in the UK she was from – if she was from there at all. Well, she might even have studied at Oxford after all, but he doubted that. Then again, if coming from the future, and as accents tend to change and disappear rather quickly, she would have sounded differently. And Major? Major of what? She certainly didn't look like the marine type of woman – as long as it wasn't some sort of space-marines at least.

Well, there was one thing he was certain of after all: He had never seen the Doctor look at someone like he was looking at her now. Not even at Rose. Maybe close, but not just like he did now. Well, on the other hand, he did not know him for such a long time and he had regenerated, but there definitely was something going on between him and Mira. He had grown older as well, and he had changed as well – and they couldn't fool him.

Finally, they reached the laboratory the old man who called himself Yana had been rambling about whilst dragging the Doctor along. It was quite a mess, and yet it seemed to have some sort of order – which probably only Professor Yana himself could see.

There was another person there though – alien, female, and quite blue, introducing herself to Martha as Chantho.

"Captain Jack Harkness," he introduced himself and smiled at Chantho.

"Stop it!" the Doctor, who was chatting away with Yana about some of the stuff in here, said immediately.

"Can't I say hello to anyone?" he protested.

"Chan I do not protest tho," she said shyly.

"Maybe later, Blue," he replied and blinked at her. "So, what have we got here?" he said and stepped further into the laboratory.

"And all this feeds into the rocket?" said the Doctor.

Yana had explained some things to the Doctor meanwhile, but he had not quite understood what he had been talking about.

"Yeah, except without a stable footprint, you see, we're unable to achieve escape velocity," Yana replied. "If only we could harmonise the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might yet make it. What do you think, Doctor? Any ideas?"

"Well, er, basically," the Doctor said, all eyes on him now. "Sort of, not a clue."

"Nothing?" Yana asked in a voice making him instantly feel sorry for the old man.

"I'm not from around these parts. I've never seen a system like it. Sorry," the Doctor replied.

Why did he do that? He had no doubts the Doctor had figured it out by now. Or was this technology so far from his own time that he really had no idea?

"No, no. I'm sorry. It's my fault," Yana said. "There's been so little help."

For a moment they all stood in silence, their eyes wandering around the laboratory, until Martha yelled, "Oh, my God. You've got a hand?" She had went to a small sitting area and pulled the jar with the Doctor's hand out of his backpack. "A hand in a jar. A hand in a jar in your bag."

"But that, that," the Doctor said with a frown, "That's my hand."

"I said I had a Doctor detector," he explained and shrugged.

"Chan is this a tradition amongst your people tho?" Chantho asked Martha.

Mira however just looked indifferently at the jar, then at the Doctor, slightly lifting one eyebrow.

"Not on my street," Martha replied. "What do you mean, that's your hand? You've got both your hands, I can see them."

"Long story. I lost my hand Christmas Day, in a sword-fight," the Doctor said, sitting down in the small sitting area where Martha had placed the jar on a table.

"What? And you grew another hand?" Martha asked disbelievingly.

"Er, yeah, yeah, I did Yeah. Hello."

"Might I ask, what species are you?" Yana asked.

"Time Lord, last of," he replied, somehow gravely. "Heard of them? Legend or anything?" He stopped, but Chantho and Yana only shook their heads. "Not even a myth? Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling."

"Chan it is said that I am the last of my species too tho."

"Sorry, what was your name?" the Doctor asked, as if he hadn't noticed her yet.

"My assistant and good friend, Chantho" Yana replied in her stead. "A survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo, before we took refuge."

"The city outside, that was yours?" the Doctor asked.

"Chan the conglomeration died tho."

"Conglomeration," the Doctor yelled and smiled. "That's what I said!"

Well, his face might have changed, but he was definitely still the old Doctor. Not always quite aware of conventions and of what to say.

"You're supposed to say sorry," he said to him.

"Oh, yes," the Doctor said, and managed to sound seriously. "Sorry."

"Chan most grateful tho."

"You grew another hand?"

He looked at Martha, who was still staring at the Doctor in disbelief. Well, she was quite young, and not travelling with him for too long – at least that was what he assumed – and somehow he found her quite refreshing.

"Hello, again," the Doctor replied and extended his hand. "It's fine. Look, really, it's me."

She took it and said, "All this time and you're still full of surprises."

He just grinned at her.

"Chan you are most unusual tho."

"So what about those things outside?" he asked. As much as he enjoyed the conversation, they had to get back to topic. "The Beastie Boys. What are they?"

"We call them the Futurekind, which is a myth in itself, but it's feared they are what we will become, unless we reach Utopia," Yana replied.

There it was again. Utopia.

"And Utopia is?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, every human knows of Utopia. Where have you been?"

"Bit of a hermit."

"A hermit with friends?" Yana asked.

"Hermits United," the Doctor replied. "We meet up every ten years and swap stories about caves. It's good fun, for a hermit. So, er, Utopia?"

Yana walked over to a display, indicating that they should follow him. It seemed to be a map, even though he wasn't quite sure what it was showing. Well, apart from the universe, of course. But there were lines, indicating force fields or something like that. And, most of all, there were no stars.

"The call came from across the stars, over and over again," Yana said as if talking to himself. "Come to Utopia. Originating from that point." He pointed at the map.

"Where is that?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, it's far beyond the Condensate Wilderness, out towards the Wildlands and the Dark Matter Reefs, calling us in," Yana said. "The last of the humans scattered across the night."

"What do you think's out there?" the Doctor asked.

"We can't know," Yana replied. "A colony, a city, some sort of haven? The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind, to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself."

"A way to escape the collapse of reality?" Mira said disbelievingly. "Seriously? There's someone calling you, because they found... what? A way to escape a dying universe? And they try to _lure_ you there with the promise of Utopia?" She stopped as if it was absolutely clear what was written all over it and she was only waiting for someone to say it. But no one said a word. "Did it ever cross your mind that that might be a trap?" she finally continued, slightly annoyed. "And that you might have become a bit overly trustful in your old days? Doctor, you said it, the universe is falling apart, so there's no such thing as Utopia."

"Excuse me, young lady, but what would you know about these things?" Yana replied indignantly. "Now perhaps they found it. Perhaps not. But it's worth a look, don't you think?" he added, clearly addressing the Doctor now.

"It's a trap," Mira murmured, but no-one seemed to mind it.

She had a point there, he had to admit, even though it hadn't been the most diplomatic way to say it. But they were working towards it for so long now, he doubted that anything would stop them. Apart from that, Yana knew a lot more background story than they, including Mira, did.

"Oh, yes, it definitely is worth a look," the Doctor replied. "And the signal keeps modulating, so it's not automatic. That's a good sign someone's out there. And that's, oh, that's a navigation matrix. So you can fly without stars to guide you. Professor? Professor? Professor."

Something was wrong with Yana, that was clear to see with him staring absent mindedly into space, and he doubted he had even heard the Doctor's last words.

"I, er, ahem, right, that's enough talk," Yana said, seemingly shaking off what had been coming over him. "There's work to do. Now if you could leave, thank you."

"You all right?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. And busy."

"Except that rocket's not going to fly, is it? This footprint mechanism thing, it's not working," the Doctor said.

"We'll find a way."

The old man was stubborn, he had to give him that.

"You're stuck on this planet," the Doctor replied. "And you haven't told them, have you? That lot out there, they still think they're going to fly."

"Well, it's better to let them live in hope."

He saw Mira shaking her head and looking as if she had more things to say to demotivate every single one in here, so he nudged her before she could do so. Well, he could still see her point, though spreading negativity like she did was uncalled for now, and no one would listen to her like this.

It was clear to see from the look she gave him in return that she wasn't amused at all – in fact he felt almost like a schoolboy again, hitting someone he wasn't supposed to hit. Just how old exactly was she?

"Quite right, too," the Doctor said, "And I must say, Professor er, what was it?"

"Yana."

"Professor Yana. This new science is well beyond me, but all the same, a boost reversal circuit, in any time frame, must be a circuit which reverses the boost. So, I wonder, what would happen if I did this?" he grabbed the end of a cable, hold his Sonic Screwdriver against it and pulled and the machines around them powered up.

"Chan it's working tho!"

"But how did you do that?

"Oh, we've been chatting away, I forgot to tell you. I'm brilliant!" the Doctor said with a wide smile.

* * *

 _Doctor_

Everyone had sprung into action and the whole camp seemed like pure chaos, with the laboratory the headquarters of it; but even though it didn't seem like, there was a system to it – at least to some extend. After he had been working in the laboratory together with Professor Yana for a while Jack came to him, tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Looks like one of your companions is missing."

He looked around, but he could see neither Mira nor Martha.

"The pale one," Jack continued. "Not sure if she's always in such a pessimistic mood, but if not, you should really look after her. She went out there to the observation platform a while ago. Just one thing, and don't get me wrong, she really could be a bit more diplomatic, but she has a point. It could actually be a trap."

"There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" he replied absent mindedly, before he fully realised what Jack had just said. Of course it had crossed his mind, but those humans were determined to go there anyway. Did they really have a choice? And no, Mira certainly wasn't like this normally. But he had thought she was somewhere else, helping to get this rocket fly. He felt suddenly slightly alarmed.

"Excuse me for a moment, Professor," he said to Yana, and left the laboratory through the door Jack had pointed at.

He found her outside, leaning against the handrail and staring into the black sky, not even turning around though she must have heard his steps behind her.

"You're alright?" he asked and stepped over next to her, his hands on the handrail as well, looking at her profile.

"I'm fine," she said without turning her head. "Are you not needed inside? They want to reach Utopia before they're all old and grey, don't they?"

"Thought you might come back in and help as well?"

"What for?" she said and looked at him. "Do you really believe in this Utopia? And even if it exists, there is no way out. The universe is dying, and they'll all go down with it. They'd need a void ship to get out, and I somehow doubt there's on in Utopia."

"Well," he said, trying to sound light-heartedly, "Someone will go down with it, but definitely not them. It's not going to happen tomorrow, you know."

She shrugged and shook her head. "It still doesn't matter," she said. "It doesn't matter if it ends now or in a few more millennia. And neither does it matter if it's this or my universe. It will always end the same, everywhere."

"Really? That's not how you see life, is it? I know you better," he said, genuinely shocked.

"You think so?" she said, and there was not even a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She was dead serious. "Well, sorry to disappoint you then. I guess I just never realised it until now. All the time and effort, all the pain, the losses, the tragedies, it just doesn't matter. Even worse, it's all in vain because it just doesn't change a thing. The universe will die, all of it, everything that has ever been, and no matter how hard we've tried to make a change, tried to leave something behind - there will be a point when it all just doesn't matter. Nothing and none of us, negating all that was ever done. It will all be gone, leaving nothing behind. Maybe it starts again – but to what end? I only hope I don't live to actually see that moment. At least not again. I-"

"Mira, stop it, please, stop it!" he said, and as she looked at him he saw tears glistening in her eyes.

He knew she had a dark side to her and that she could be rather melancholic at times, but if there was one thing he had always admired was her seemingly unbreakable ability to not give up, to not lose hope. She had not lost hope back on Kroptor, and then he had seen it in her mind. He also knew how much she was struggling here, but she then again, no matter if she was struggling, fighting, or even lost in utter despair, all was better than completely giving up.

Oh, he should have known. It was all his fault.

She averted her gaze, tried to turn her back to him, but he had grabbed her hands before she could do so. "Look at me," he said, but her eyes were cast down. "That's not you talking here. That's- It's- The universe around you. You can feel it, as you always do, and I should have thought about it and- I'm so, so sorry. I should have left. Mira, please, you have to trust me, we leave as fast as we can, and then everything will be alright again, I promise."

"You know, I've thought about that myself," she replied and looked up, her eyes so dead and bare of any hope that he had to suppress a shiver. "But I'm not so certain about it. Maybe I was just too blind to see it."

He lifted her hands and kissed them before he pulled her in his arms, absolutely lost for words. He was almost certain she was feeling like she did because she was influenced by the universe itself, but right now there was nothing he could say or do to help her.

Then he turned his head as someone cleared her throat. Martha was standing in the doorway and staring at them.

"They need you inside," she said, walked back in and closed the door behind her without looking at him once more.

* * *

 _OneWhoReadsToMuch, E-man-dy-S, bored411: Thanks for reviewing :-)_

 _VileG: No bother, when it's constructive critic it is always welcome, and as said, I really thought about it. Thanks for all the ideas, some of them I was considering myself a whila ago, like the thing with the watch. We'll see. By the way, feel free to ping me with a pm if you want to – we don't want to many spoilers here, do we? ;-)_


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